To the Ends of Our World
by SinisterlyMe
Summary: Naruto is unconscious after his final fight with Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't want Konoha to take Naruto back. Whisking the boy away, Sasuke travels to the ends of their world and farther all for the sake of one thing...Main Character #2:Naruto  SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

To the Ends of Our World

By SneakyFox48

* * *

><p>Naruto is unconscious after his final fight with Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't want Konoha to take Naruto back. Whisking the boy away, Sasuke travels to the ends of their world and farther all for the sake of one thing...Main Character #2:Naruto SasuNaru<p>

**WARNING:** This is yaoi and will most likely get graphic later (^_~) if you know what I mean. Just so you know, unless anyone really objects (and I may have a poll about it later) the first part of this story will be more in Sasuke's view while the second will be equal between the two.

**I'll try not too comment too much at the beginning of each chapter and review! I know it's a selfish thing to ask for, but it really brightens my otherwise mostly dreary day and I'd really appreciate it!**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto because if I did, quite a few things would be different.

* * *

><p>He hadn't really won. Sasuke knew that clearly enough when Naruto had discharged his Rasengan mid leap. Sasuke was ready to end it all even if Naruto refused to finish him off, but it was that look in Naruto's eyes that stopped Sasuke from punching a hole in his best friend's chest for the second time in less than a decade. That look Naruto gave him every since they ran into each other back at Orochimaru's hideout a few years back. Sasuke had first thought it was sadness or maybe pity, which greatly fueled his anger at the time, but it wasn't until later did Sasuke realize that it was definitely neither. What it was, he didn't know. And when he had asked Naruto moments before the final moment of the fight came, the blonde had answered back with a stubborn <em>'if you don't know then I'm not telling you<em>'.

Sasuke hated that because Itachi had done that to him for years and he hated that Naruto could be so much more like Itachi than he ever could. It was frustrating and a list of many other emotions he wanted to ignore. But of all the things, he hated Naruto for caring so much, because in turn, it made Sasuke want to care for him, too. He hadn't wanted that, but Sasuke discovered that Naruto was like a disease that never went away no matter how much you wanted him to; though Sasuke had yet to really decide if that was a good or bad thing at the moment.

And yet the anger, revenge and frustration that had built inside of him seemed to have vanished with every punch that he threw at Naruto. And for every punch he received, he felt something pull deep inside of him. The way Naruto had fought, and moved and looked at him was like the blonde boy was trying to tell him something because the only way they were ever able to communicate was through fists and battle. The question was whether he didn't understand or didn't want to understand.

He knew that if he left Naruto like this he would die in maybe an hour, even with the Kyuubi's chakra trying to heal the wounds. And if _he_ continued to lie there, than Sasuke would probably die of blood loss in maybe two hours, if not a little bit less. He would have been perfectly fine with letting himself die beside Naruto at that very moment, but he had a bad feeling that if he stayed still for a few more minutes, Konoha and/or Suna would be able to find their Hokage-to-be and himself. From there he knew it would go downhill. Someone, most likely Haruno, would be able to heal Naruto just in time while someone else healed him a tiny bit just for the journey back to Konohagakure. Then he would be thrown into jail and hear all of the 'I told you so's' and 'Looked what revenge brought you' speeches. Well, he didn't give a flying fuck. He knew what it brought him and he didn't care what they had told him; it was his choice and he would live with the consequences without their accusations.

Peering back down at Naruto, Sasuke made his resolve and picked the blonde up with some effort. Making sure that his sword was tied to his back tightly, Sasuke ran off with Naruto just as he sensed several other presences not but a mile or two away. Konoha, he promised himself, would never have Naruto back, and he would definitely make sure of that. Not even glancing back, Sasuke made his way north towards the ocean. He wanted to get as far away from Konoha as fast as possible, and no one would expect him to run to somewhere like Waterfall Country. Slightly limping with each step that he took, Sasuke rushed away as fast as possible.

* * *

><p>They had made it to the ocean side in four days, with Sasuke still carrying Naruto. He'd only stopped once and that was at a small side of the road clinic that treated both Sasuke and Naruto without a question. But the news that he got there was everything but good.<p>

_Flashback _

_Apparently, with the war going on and their establishment being on a very common shinobi route, they showed no surprise to seeing two people appear in the middle of the night caked in blood and grime. Seeing as ninety nine percent of the side Sasuke had been fighting with didn't need medical attention (they __were__ previously dead), the hospital assumed they were both fighting for the 'good', or whatever that meant now a days. _

_When they had finished wrapping up and healing Sasuke's wounds, another healer had come in quite hesitantly. Sasuke vaguely recognized him as the doctor that had taken Naruto to the room next to his. Sasuke sat tensely on the examination table as the doctor closed the door behind him and cleared his throat._

"_Hello, I'm Dr. Mitsuketa. I was treating your friend over in the other room. I just… well there's good news and… bad news. First off, your friend's internal bleeding and external wounds have healed splendidly. He'll be as good as new by tomorrow night, but… unfortunately he is in a coma. There were no serious wounds to the head that could have caused it, and your friend doesn't seem to have had any recent seizures, so it's something else. We don't know what it is though. It could very well be spiritual or maybe something to do with chakra, but I think all you can do right now is wait and see if he can get better."_

_Sasuke had been beyond enraged at that, and felt no pity or guilt when he punched a hole through the wall, and walked away with Naruto back in his arms. He would find someone to find a cure if it was the last thing Sasuke did._

So when they arrived in Waterfall Country, they were currently residing in a small room inside of an apartment complex. Sasuke had not had any money on him, but putting the owner of the complex under a simple illusion of Sasuke handing him money that would last them a week was no trouble at all. Sitting on the edge of the bed, Sasuke realized that he had no idea how to take care of a sick person. He'd only taken care of himself, and he was already lucky to have not run into anyone that recognized him as a missing Nin high up in the bingo book. Then again, all of the Kage and many of the other shinobi were probably still in Fire Country cleaning up the mess and tending to the injured and dead.

Looking down at Naruto, he brushed away the sunny bangs that fell into the boy's closed eyes. Naruto had changed a lot, and that was visible outwardly, too. Both Sasuke and Naruto hadn't really gone through a physically awkward stage, and most of the times ninja never really did because they were constantly conditioning their bodies, but Naruto had turned out… nice. The possession marks on his cheeks were no longer large lines on his cheeks, and had been reduced to almost thin lines like the point of a small paint brush. His hair had stopped looking like someone had cut it with a blunt blade, and Naruto had grown everywhere quite some bit. Naruto was still two inches shorter than Sasuke since he only reached to the height of five foot seven; probably only a recent thing. Sasuke was glad for that since Naruto had always been shorter than him. It was the same reason he was glad that Naruto's eyes were still blue, his hair a sunflower yellow, and his skin a light tan, but still its usual light color.

Sasuke abruptly got up, and strutted out of the room. Now was not the time to stop and stare. He started to wonder why they were even _here_ and not somewhere else. He'd give anything to get's what fair, but fair wasn't really what he _needed_, it was what Naruto needed.

Walking along the sandy beach just outside of their apartment, Sasuke looked out and watched the moon being reflected off the ocean's surface. It was a full moon tonight and cast an almost melancholy shine over the deserted beach. "Itachi, I don't know what to do. I think I've reached my limit, but I can't stop. Why am I even here? Why do I even _have_ Naruto with me?"

Of course he knew the answer to those questions, but he wanted someone to tell him what to do. He was tired of making his own decisions and that leading him to another pair of confusing decisions to make. It was like when you asked someone an important question and they had the gall to answer back with a question of their own. It was a never ending cycle of questions and more questions without a clear answer. Sighing, he sat on top of a rock a little ways from the water. He sat there well into the night, and it wasn't until three in the morning did he see another soul. It was an older woman who looked to be in her early forties. Her hair, Sasuke could tell, used to be a light blonde, but had faded into white. She looked foreign, and frail, and almost not entirely there at intervals of time; as if her conscious came and went as it pleased. Sasuke could tell that she was as weak as a butterfly, but it was strange that she would be looking for something so late in the night. It made Sasuke feel wary when her eyes locked on to his form, and seemed to be approaching him with purpose. Normally, Sasuke would have just sped away seeing as he had a low toleration for most people when he was in this sort of mood, but something told him to stay, even just for a little.

Sasuke carried on staring at her and was somewhat surprise that the woman didn't back away or falter in her steps as she continued to approach him. When she was only a few feet away, she sat down on the ground and peered at him curiously.

"I thought you would be older."

Sasuke raised a thin eyebrow at the slight accent tainting her speech. It was strange because it didn't sound like anything he had ever heard before. Of course people had different accents all over the countries, but her voice sounded as if she had previously spoken an entirely different language.

She smiled brightly at him before scooting closer and holding out a hand for him to take, a gesture he hadn't had given to him in years. "I'm Cornelia Lovegood. How I know you? Well I don't but I knew you would be here for just about eight years."

"Foreign and apparently a seer; I'm interested. Do tell what you need to tell me." Sasuke didn't even try to hide the sarcasm and skepticism seeping into his voice as he waited for her response.

"Well it was quite interesting how it all came about. I was experimenting with a new spell I was creating with my little girl Luna watching, when all of a sudden it exploded. When I opened my eyes, I was lying on this very beach, and a voice was telling me to wait for a boy of the fan to appear one night when the moon was full, and pass on a message." Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper, and handed it to him. Plucking it from her thin pale fingers, Sasuke glanced at her one more time before unfolding it.

"The voice told me to give you this map, and then tell you that if you seek salvation and a cure for the one you love, it will lead you to a magical place. And entirely different world. My home."

"And you haven't used this map to try to get home yourself?" Sasuke quipped suspiciously.

The woman shrugged before getting up and dusting herself off. "I had a feeling from the very beginning that it was more important that this got to you than travelling back. Plus, home is where the heart it, and as much as I much dislike admitting it, my love for this place and the people here surpass my love of my daughter and my husband. It's not right, but you can't control where your heart leads you. Remember that. Also, if you do happen to take this journey, I recommend going to an old friend of mine, Albus Dumbledore. Just tell him that a rabbit in the hole crawled out for a moment to help a mouse come back to the surface. Oh and this will help a lot, too."

Throwing a heavy book his way, Lovegood turned away just as he caught the book deftly in his right hand. Sasuke frowned at her back as she walked off. Still, stranger things had happened to him, the map and directions were detailed enough to possibly be legitimate, and if it was a trap, what did he have to lose? Taking one more look at the woman's receding form, he tucked the book and the map into a bag tied to his hip and walked back to the room.

When morning came, Sasuke had had about four hours of sleep which was more than enough for him to function properly. Naruto was still unconscious where he laid peacefully on the bed next to Sasuke's. A small spark of worry flickered inside of him as he saw Naruto's face paler than it was the night before. Placing his hand on Naruto's forehead, he was silently relieved to feel that his temperature was normal, but it was still an unusual sight not to see Naruto either sun kissed or flushed from running around.

Biting into an apple he had grabbed from a tree, Sasuke sat on Naruto's bed so that he was sitting across from him, and pulled out the book and map. He had already read the map which also gave instructions on where to go. Apparently, they had to sail out into sea for three days until they reached a tall rock sticking out of the water, with a symbol that took the shape of a horse, a star and a circle. From there he had to say the incantation and then that was where the instructions stopped.

The book, on the other hand, was a regular, old dictionary, except beside each word, sentence rule, and alphabet letter, was one written in another language. Sasuke quickly reasoned that that was why Lovegood had the accent, because their language was not her dominate one. It was exciting learning something new that didn't involve fighting. Sasuke had sucked up all bits of information about geography, techniques, etc. to the point where it was hard to find something new to learn now a days. The language sounded harsher in his ears than their language and it still felt really thick on his tongue, but it hadn't taken long for the last Uchiha to perfect the new language. Sasuke hadn't particularly liked it and went as far as to describe and compare it to a rose petal and a piece of granite, but he figured that not all languages could hold elegance and strength in it all at once like the Countries could. But still there was so much more to do.

While studying all the new words and concepts written from the book, Sasuke had gambled and won a small ship, some extra cash, supplies and some new clothes for Naruto and himself. They would be leaving the next morning so everything was set up and ready. He was surprised at himself and this new sort of attitude that surrounded him, and it was all Naruto's fault… though not necessarily a bad thing.

Slipping on his new clothes, he held Naruto's in his hand rather limply and looked between the article of clothing and the other boy's still form. "Man up, Uchiha. It's not like you haven't seen Naruto naked before."

Still rather hesitantly, Sasuke slipped off Naruto's new clothes, washed off any remaining blood, dirt, and grime and pulled on the new clothes. He would never admit it, but his face had felt a tad heated as he looked down at Naruto. Yes, he would most likely never tell Naruto that this even when he woke up… definitely not. Checking that everything was ready for their short voyage, all there was left to do was wait till morning. That night, Sasuke dreamt peacefully for the first time in years. He was sitting by a river with Naruto beside him. The orange clad boy would smile at him broadly and reached out to touch him, but that was regrettably where it ended. Sasuke knew that there was no one else in this world or the next he cared for more than Naruto, but he didn't know how far those feelings went. Did he mind… not so much. Shaking his head, Sasuke wondered if these emotions only sprouted because Naruto was the _only _person in this world who could fully understand him, and love him all the same. He just didn't know how deep Naruto's emotions went. Last he knew, Naruto had been head over heels with Sakura, but years in the life of a shinobi changed you faster than most…

Morning came and went and from their Sasuke and Naruto started their voyage on the waters. It was a boring and a un noteworthy trip, which left Sasuke impatient and irritable at odd hours of the day and nights spent sailing. Sasuke had noted that Naruto hadn't eaten anything in days, and made sure that he mashed up a bunch of the stored fruit into a liquid form and fed it to Naruto. It was hard and at some points frustrating, but Sasuke had done harder. While they sailed, he would read up on a few pages of notes that were stuck in the back of the dictionary, and it wasn't until then did he realize that he had no idea where he would find this Dumbledore. That would definitely be a problem, but it was not impossible to find someone, because everyone leaves a trail whether they want to be found or not.

When they finally did find the rock, it was past noon, and the sun was beating down on them like no tomorrow. Several times Sasuke was tempted to jump into the cool ocean water, but knew if he did, the salt would make him sticky and grimy feeling for the rest of the trip. Sasuke almost sighed in relief when he saw the rock and mentally imagined how Naruto would react.

"The idiot would probably yell it to the skies, and hug the closest person to him." Sasuke muttered to himself. Throwing an anchor down, Sasuke made sure the ship was right next to the rock so he wouldn't have to yell too loud when saying the incantation, and picked up his travelling pack. Paranoia kicked in as he took a long glance behind him. This was usually when Kakashi, or Sakura or whoever else would appear out of nowhere, and demand for him to give Naruto back, no one came in the end. Holding Naruto closely, he wondered if they'd ever be able to come back, since this seemed like a one way sort of trip. As he let Naruto's head fall softly on his chest, Sasuke looked down at Naruto's face, and swore he to himself that he saw Naruto's lips twitch upward in a smile. Yes. With that small little sign, he was sure that this was the thing to do.

_Rop soraid in sét-sa,__  
><em>_rop sét lessa im lámaib;__  
><em>_fri armaib, fri áraib!_

At first nothing happened and Sasuke felt the beginning of a string of curses start to tumble through his slightly chapped lips, but that soon stopped when the area around then started to shake and rattle. Looking down, he saw a blue line begin to curve its way around the both of them to make some sort of seal design. When all of the lines connected, the lights flashed brightly until Sasuke had to close his eyes. He felt his feet leave the ground, and a strong wind started to swirl around him. Trying to calm his racing heart, Sasuke tightened his grip on the bag and Naruto. Suddenly , it felt like he was being pushed through a small tube, and that his body was being stretched and pressed in all directions. He could feel his chakra coils lash out at the foreign power, until it all seemed to snap back into place. They were falling down from there. Opening his eyes, and subconsciously activating his Sharingan, Sasuke flipped both of them upright and landed rather shakily on a tall tree branch that was directly underneath them. Jumping onto the ground, Sasuke adjusted Naruto back into his arms comfortably. Looking down, the blonde boy was slightly slobbering onto his shirt; a scene Sasuke couldn't decide was disgusting or enduring. Sighing heavily, Sasuke started to walk through the trees. He could feel a mass of energy/pretenses coming from that direction which was probably a town. Pressing his walk into a jog, he made it to the town in less than half an hour. It was small, and probably only held one hundred people in it, but it would be enough for Sasuke to find out if anyone knew who Albus Dumbledore was, and where Sasuke could find him. That was all he really needed, and he hoped that no one would pay attention to the 'sleeping blonde' on his back because he really didn't need to be questioned about that at the moment. He was still going through withdrawal of not knocking people out the moment they opened their mouths, anyway. Everyone they passed looked at them with curiosity and wonder; something Sasuke was well used to, but greatly hated with a passion.

"Excuse me, sir? But do you need something?"

Sasuke mentally thanked the man for asking since he really had not wanted to ask someone himself what he needed.

"I am looking for someone. An Albus Dumbledore to be exact. I need his… assistance with my friend."

"Headmaster Dumbledore? My little girl used to go to his school a few years back. It's a small world isn't it? I think I might have my fireplace floo system still connected to his office."

Sasuke watched the man carefully with his eyes to see if the male was in any way lying but the only thing that Sasuke could see was… over friendliness, too trustful and foolish. But that played to his advantage as he followed the old man to his house.

"What _did_ happen to your friend? He looks like he got caught between an exploding sleeping draught potion and a Confundus charm."

"I don't know."

Sensing the tense atmosphere, the man promptly shut up. He could tell that the Asian looking foreign boy was very upset. The black haired male at first sight was just holding the blonde boy in his arms, but anyone who had ever worried for a sibling, spouse or a daughter/son could tell that the boy was practically clinging to the blonde. But of course, by the expression or lack thereof on his face, he would have never admitted it.

"I suppose asking for your name too is out of the question, lad?"

All Sasuke did was grunt and give a curt nod. "Well it ain't any of my business anyway."

Sasuke was led into a small house in the middle of the little town. The house was big enough to fit just about three people and he imagined that this was the sort of house he didn't mind living in. There were lots of flowers placed around the house, and strangely enough, Sasuke noticed that some of them would move and stretch as if they were animals.

"Well I think by now, any young wizard would know how this works. Just step into the flames, and I'll throw the floo and say Dumbledore's address."

_Step into the flame?_ Sasuke hesitated for a moment, but figured that he could suffer a few burns before jumping out if this was a rouse; he doubted it was anyway. Silently thanking the man with another nod, he stepped into the large fire place, and made sure that Naruto's head didn't hit any of the walls.

"Oh and before you go, he's a sunflower for your sun haired friend. I hope he gets better."

As the flames rose around him Sasuke softly muttered, "Me, too." before being completely engulfed by the cold, green colored flames. He stumbled out of the fireplace and was surprised to suddenly find himself to be in a completely different room full of shining and flashing objects. The sunflower in his hand softly vibrated as if it couldn't decide what way to face. When he looked down, Sasuke wasn't entirely surprised to see the yellow flower facing Naruto's way.

"That boy must naturally have quite the sunny nature. The flower is enchanted to face someone with a bright personality and not like that of a normal sunflower that follows the sun."

Sasuke looked up to see a very old man walk through a door to the right of him. He wore silvery blue robes which had several sparkling jewels hanging from odd places. The half moon like spectacles looked fitting for the old man's face, and the long silver beard made him look grandfatherly. If he didn't know better, Sasuke would have thought that it was just a coincidence that the old man looked elegant, powerful, commanding, and fatherly all at the same time.

"Are you Albus Dumbledore?"

"Why yes I am. What can I do for a strange individual such as yourself?"

Sasuke could see the flash of mistrust in the Dumbledore's face, and at that moment, he quite liked the old man. "A rabbit in a hole crawled out for a moment to help a mouse come back to the surface. My friend needs help… and I couldn't find it where I come from."

"You seem a bit young to have known Ms. Cornelia Lovegood before she died."

"Who said she was dead. They never found a body, did they?"

Dumbledore smiled. It had been a while since he'd met someone so young with a quick silver tongue and great wit and maturity to match it. "I quite like you, Mr…?"

"Sasuke Uchiha."

"Well Mr. Uchiha, let's see what I can do for your friend."

Albus Dumbledore, Sasuke found out, what an incredibly prepared man. He actually had a hallway connected to his office with a dozen or so rooms for different occasions. One of the, the one he was staying in, was a large room with two beds, a bathroom and whatever else a room had, and was made partly for someone that would be under medical treatment. Sasuke half wondered why he had been so lucky so far when it came to everything so far. Watching Naruto from his position across the room, Sasuke couldn't help but let the corners of his mouth twitch up. "Your luck streak is running off on me, you idiot. I hope your stupidity doesn't, too." Sasuke's half smile widened a little bit when he saw Naruto's body twitch at the comment. So maybe Naruto wasn't all gone after all.

By the time he had put away all of his supplies, Dumbledore had walked back in with a plump looking woman caring a large back of supplies.

"Mr. Uchiha, this is Madam Pomfrey. She's our school nurse. She's a very talented woman. Just explain to her what you told me of Mr. Uzumaki, and she'll see what she can do. In the mean time, the students should be arriving back from summer break. Merlin's beard, this day is always the busiest for me. It's like people think I run on magic."

Dumbledore chuckled at his own joke as he walked out of the room. After quickly explaining all the details of Naruto's condition, Sasuke sat on a chair next to the bed and watched her work. As she was moving, what Sasuke assumed, was her chakra filtration device, she looked up at him hesitantly.

"Mr. Uchiha…"

"Please, just Sasuke. And I believe if the idiot was awake he would have wanted you to call him Naruto."

"Oh, okay. So Sasuke… how old are you and Naruto? And where are your parents?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. This world was quite different from his own. Apparently this world seemed to coddle children or something. "Naruto and I don't have family, and we're old enough. Question… what _are_ you using? All the healers back home use their hands and medical equipment."

Madam Pomfrey looked at Sasuke's face. His face was cold and emotionless, but the corner of his eyes softened has he looked at Naruto. "Where did you say you came from? I don't think I've ever heard of that kind of medical magic before?"

Realizing that Cornelia Lovegood was grammatically correct when referring to this place as _another world_, Sasuke have a frustrated sigh before muttering a sharp 'never mind'.

"I'll be back." Sasuke retorted. Madam Pomfrey opened her mouth to protest, but thought it better to keep quiet. Sasuke was not a student, but a guest in the castle, and she had no say in what he did or where he went no matter how young he was; that power was only Dumbledore's to command.

When Sasuke was outside the room, he made a clone of himself. "Watch and make sure that nothing happens. I'll be back."

His clone solemnly nodded his head, and stood by the door. Sasuke quickly ran off and excited not only the hallway of rooms, but Dumbledore's office. Back in the Academy, they had a library, so it made sense that this one, if not all, schools had libraries. He hated being so under informed. It made him feel inferior and frustrated, so his order of business while Naruto was being checked out my a medic was so gather as much information as possible before he ran into more of the people who lived in this world. Taking out a scroll, he summoned hawks from the summoning contract he had signed not long after joining Akatsuki.

"Find the library. It should be here somewhere. Be quick and silent about it, too."

Flapping away, twenty hawks went in different directions to search. He himself walked down the huge arched passageways. He could feel the amount of power radiating in every wall, and every flame that burned in each hall. It was like the only thing keeping the old castle-like school together was the 'magic'. . He once tried to run on one of the walls, but found it hard to when the magic in the wall seemed to stick to him like glue which made each step sound like a suction cup being torn from its previous placement.

"It's probably just their idiotic and weak version of chakra."

Twenty minutes later, one hawk came back to him and gave him directions to where the books were. From there, Sasuke fingered through a Jutsu that brought all of the hawks back to Mount Myōboku. He briefly wondered if all summons came from there as he sprinted down the numerous hallways, but thought it unimportant as it didn't benefit him at that moment.

The library was probably one of the biggest Sasuke had ever seen in his life. It was dead silent, and Sasuke could sense that no one was inside, so he figured there was no use hiding in the shadows any longer. Popping up more clones, he ordered each of them to find all the necessary books in each subject ranging from this world's history to its laws. All of the Sasuke's clones leaped through the library and checked each and every spine of the books. It was important for him to get to know as much as possible to soon also because he didn't know how long he would be staying here if not forever. Ignorance was a terrible thing he had discovered, and he wouldn't let it happen to himself again as long as he was conscious of it. While the clones were deciding which book was best for whatever field of information he needed, Sasuke himself was looking out one of the windows in the room. From inside the library he could see a large section of the building across from where he stood brightly lightened. He couldn't see what was going on inside, but he would find out soon enough anyway. It probably had something to do with what Dumbledore said about the students arriving back; maybe even a welcome ceremony of sorts.

"Sasuke-sama, we found all of the books."

Sasuke turned his coal black eyes back to the group of clones who were now holding a book each. "Good, let's get back to, Naruto."

"Will he be alright?" One of his shadow clones asked him.

"Of course he will. If he could survival heartache, than he can survive a headache." Another clone responded quickly.

"But how will he react when he wakes up?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at the seven clones and dispelled them before they started to get on his nerves with all their questions. Why did his clones always ask questions? It really was ridiculous sometimes. Picking up the books, Sasuke teleported through the hallways quickly until he made his way back to Dumbledore's office a few seconds later. Dispelling the clone he had left in front of the door, Sasuke walked back into the room with the books.

"You can't take those books without signing them out!" Madam Pomfrey yelled out panicked.

Sasuke only glared before setting down the books on a desk next to his bed. "Then sign them out for me. I'll be done them by the end of the week anyway."

"You can't possibly read all those books so quickly! No one can!"

"Watch me."

Sasuke walked back with one of the books in his hands, and sat in the chair by the bed again.

"Well, I think that's all I can do for now. I checked him over, and it seems that he's as healthy as a winning dragon. But there does seem to be a lot of internal magical activity in his brain area. That's what's probably making Naruto be in the comatose state that he's in. Truly the problem can only be solved by Naruto himself, but there are a few potions and techniques that can speed up the process. I'll give them to you with a set of instructions for you to fall."

Madam Pomfrey turned around to leave the room, but stopped at the door.

"Oh and I had some house elves bring up some food, and anything else you were missing in this room, along with a vase for that flower. It's strange… usually enchanted flowers like that quickly turn to each person in the room before settling on the cheeriest personality in the room, but that flower hasn't budged. Your friend must have a very sunny disposition."

Sasuke nodded to her as she left. When the door closed, Sasuke sank down further into the chair, and opened the book he had in his hand. "You haven't even twitched a finger, and somehow you seem to have made a wonderful impression on them."

Sasuke shook his head, before starting to read each page, and soaking up the information like a sponge. But as he was reading, Sasuke couldn't help but feel like he was going to be here a lot longer than he first intended.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore watched from the corner of his eye as a hawk flew above the rafters and then disappeared in a small puff of smoke that went completely unnoticed by the rest of the people in the room. He would inform the rest of the staff that a guest would be staying in the castle, and one night of Sasuke Uchiha wanted, he would introduce him to the students, but until then it would be kept to himself. He hoped that Harry and his friends wouldn't go pocking around for this matter, because Dumbledore felt that Sasuke was in fact a very dangerous person. He could tell that the young man was trying his best to act cordial probably because of his friend, but the look in his eyes told the old headmaster that Sasuke had a short fuse and wasn't afraid to lash out for whatever reason. Dumbledore wondered to himself why he would even let someone like that stay in his castle, but the answer came to him when he thought of the Naruto Uzumaki, the blonde boy that had also come with Sasuke. They way Sasuke changed so drastically around the boy told Dumbledore that Naruto was either the only special person Sasuke had in his life, a wondrous person he seemed to touch hearts everywhere or even both. In any case, Dumbledore needed a small distraction from their new staff member, Dolores Umbridge, who had been appointed by the ministry this year to teach Defense. Sighing, Dumbledore adjusted his glasses and smiled at a staring group of first years. Albus Dumbledore knew that this year would be like no other. He could feel it in his old bones.<p>

* * *

><p>The incantation came from some website, but I cut out one of the phrases so that it would fit better with the story. It was kind of lame, but I needed it just once for the story. I don't remember the site though, so you might want to just look it up your self if you are wondering about that.<p>

I hope you enjoyed the story so far and continue to review!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

NNaruto is unconscious after his final fight with Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't want Konoha to take Naruto back. Whisking the boy away, Sasuke travels to the ends of their world and farther all for the sake of one thing...Main Character #2:Naruto SasuNaru

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto because if I did I would make sure that Naruto ended up with Sasuke... no questions asked.

_Last Chapter's Quick Preview: Sighing, Dumbledore adjusted his glasses and smiled at a staring group of first years. Albus Dumbledore knew that this year would be like no other. He could feel it in his old bones._

* * *

><p>Sasuke hadn't left the room Naruto and himself had been occupying for close to ten days; and he didn't have to seeing as everything he needed was only a few feet away. And it wasn't like he wasn't used to staying in one place for long periods of time considering Sasuke had practically lived in a hole with Orochimaru for three years. Of course Madam Pomfrey visited once every morning and night, but when Sasuke reassured rather rudely that he could take care of Naruto now that he knew how, she just frowned and harshly declared back that he needed all the help he could get if he wanted Naruto to wake up. None the less, she now only came once a night for a few minutes.<p>

Sasuke placed down another finished book, not to mention the last book, and tried to ignore the pulling under his skin that the castle and the atmosphere were giving him. He'd been awake all night again watching Naruto and reading up on all the books. Sasuke was astonished on how different this world was, and he couldn't blame Lovegood for falling in love with their home land seeing as this new universe was not one to be happy with. As a ninja before defection, and common knowledge, shinobi were widely respected, awed and sometimes loved by the majority of the populace, but in this world, more 'gifted' individuals were feared, hated and therefore hidden in pockets of communities all over the map.

In the book Standard Laws and Government Formation, not only was death of even a criminal frowned upon, but their government sounded more like a dictatorship hiding behind a mask of democracy. Back in Konohagakure there were different levels of absolute rule with a Counsel depending on the leader. Ninjas and citizens knew the decisions weren't up for discussion unless you had a chair in the counsel or you were an extremely high ranking shinobi, but at least they didn't sugar coat it. All the same he hated it. _Naruto would have been different though… he always seemed to fix the irreparable._ "But could you fix me?"

Shaking his head, at the ridiculous question, Sasuke pulled the covers higher up and over Naruto. Hearing a loud snapping sound, he saw the small human like creatures look to see if they need to make his bed like every morning since they started sleeping in the room. But like most mornings since then, Sasuke hadn't slept but a few hours, and the bed was once again untouched. They came exactly at the same time in the same fashion, wearing the same thing. From one of the books he had previously read, they were a form of elf that was used for common labor and housework; and with that, were sometimes strongly influenced by their 'masters'. Apparently they could do anything up to cooking, cleaning, gardening, babysitting and care. In short, they would be of great use to Sasuke. Clearing his throat, he caught the attention of one of the house elves and beckoned her over with a long thin finger. He watched amused as she jumped in surprise and scurried towards him. No doubt she found him quite daunting; even many more courageous fellows thought so, too.

"What can Milly do for young Master Uchiha?" She said with a deep bow.

Raising his eyebrow at the very formal greeting, he turned his body around so that he was facing her completely. He looked her up and down the cold black eyes, before speaking in a very official and serious manner.

"As much as it…bothers me to say, it doesn't look like my companion will be recuperating any time soon. With that in mind, I cannot stay in this room by his side all day and all night."

Waiting to see if she understood Sasuke continued. "I have read that house elves are capable creatures and have willingly placed their lives for their charges if the situation rises. If it isn't against your duties to the castle, it would be helpful if you watched and cared for Naruto while I am away."

Milly smiled shyly up at him before nodding her head enthusiastically. "Milly would be greatly honored to be of your service, Master Uchiha. If the young Master Naruto stirs should Milly notify Master Uchiha right away?"

Sasuke nodded his head silently as he stood from the wooden chair. The castle's residence should be waking up soon, and Sasuke wanted to talk to Dumbledore about a few things.

"I'm leaving the idiot to you, but if you were to harm him then I will not hesitate to make sure that your death is both painful and slow." Sasuke said harshly as he pulled on some clothes.

"Milly understands, Master Uchiha." She said with a slight quiver in her voice.

Fully dressed and ready to leave, Sasuke stopped at the door and peered over at Milly who was seating herself in front of Naruto on a summoned stool. Naruto would be fine. "How did the elves know that I was awake?"

"Milly was taught that the Hogwarts castle sends waves of magic to a tapestry in Milly's quarters when someone awakens." She paused for a moment as if weighing the pros or cons of mentioning a particular subject, but decided to anyway. "Milly was taught that the house elf should never appear in the presence of someone of the castle, but Milly and the other house elves were told by Dumbledore that Master Uchiha would not mind."

Nodding contently at that response, Sasuke closed the door, placed a seal on it that notified him if anyone entered the room, and started to walk down the tapestry hanging hallway. Twisting the lion brass door knob, he swung it open and strolled into Dumbledore's office with poise. Sasuke was a bit peeved that unless he wanted to run down the castle walls, he had to walk through the elderly man's office, but then again, Sasuke unfortunately was not in the right position to make demands such as sleeping arrangements.

Sasuke wasn't particularly surprised to see the old man already up and looking at a stack of paper's on his large desk. Dumbledore turned around in surprise at seeing him, but only smiled and motioned to the chair in front of the desk after.

"I must say, I was quite sure you wouldn't have come out of your room for a few more days."

Sasuke snorted and shook his head. "I was, but I finished all of the books faster than I first expected. Your culture is… simple-minded."

Dumbledore smiled at this. "You are an extraordinary boy if that is so. Very few people have thought so, which means you'll probably be delving into detail on how it all ticks, yes?"

Sasuke nodded before leaning in. "But that is not why I am here. No one gets anything for free, and it would be appreciated if you told me our conditions for my stay right now."

"Good, good. You are a guest, and this is a favor to an old friend so I'm won't ask very much of you. In exchange for your stay, in which you may survey classes and explore the castle and it's grounds, though I must press caution on the third corridor and forbidden forest if you were to wonder there; you will do small little jobs if needed in the castle. Some wizards now a days have been too spoiled in using magic for everything and unfortunately some parts of the castle cannot be repaired by magic. In theory it would seem that there is so much magic holding the castle together, that it rejects…"

"…Rejects similar magic as if someone would be placing new glue on old glue."

That did explain why his feet, when infused with chakra, were almost sticking to the walls. The magic was clinging to him because his form of energy was foreign.

"Yes, exactly. That being said, I can tell from your physical state that handling muggle tools sometime in the future won't be too much trouble. That is if you know how to use them." Sasuke gave a nod of confirmation before Dumbledore continued. "I must warn you, some of the children in this castle are too curious for their own good, so you may find a small group here or there trying to figure out who our 'mysterious guest' is."

Sasuke bowed his head curtly, silently grateful that he wasn't being asked to be a servant to the castle every hour of everyday for however long it took. They spoke a bit more about common rules, meal times, and schedules in which he might want to observe the classes. At this point, Sasuke suspected that Dumbledore thought he practiced 'magic' through a wand, and Sasuke felt no need to correct him. Dumbledore would find out soon enough, anyway.

Dumbledore and Sasuke walked leisurely down the stone steps and through the hallways. The walk was relatively hushed besides the small popping sounds coming from Sasuke's fingers running against the wall; and it was quiet enough to where only Sasuke could hear that.

"So will I be expecting you to eat with us at every meal now?" Dumbledore asked as they walked on towards the dining area.

"Breakfast and most dinners." Sasuke quipped. Lunches were always dedicated to Naruto. Sasuke wanted to see if a sense of routine for Naruto would slowly draw him out of unconsciousness. Sasuke's reasoning being that he had had lunch with Naruto majority of the time before he defected, and he doubted that Naruto ever had lunch without the company of someone else since then.

"For Naruto? Again I must voice my thoughts on what kind of person this boy is to draw so much concern from one person."

Sasuke didn't comment on the 'concern' remark, and didn't even look at the old wizard before answering. "Stupid, heroic and trusting."

Dumbledore could sense a slight undertone of something almost endearing, but it wasn't his business to pry. Fixing the half moon glasses on his face, they both entered through the large double doors of the Great Hall. There were only a few people inside seeing as the mainstreams of people were only just waking up at the moment. They wouldn't be down and in the dining room for another thirty to forty five minutes or so. Sasuke couldn't help, but remember what Dumbledore said about wizards being spoiled by their wand use. Apparently they were lazy, too if most weren't already awake at this time. He didn't know one person who slept in to this hour on a daily basis; not Naruto as a genin or even civilians who had to wake up early to open shop or work in the fields.

Sasuke inspected the whole room, and was considerably impressed by the ceiling. The ceiling looked like the sky with clouds, and the darker blue turning lighter as the sun started to rise. He stored that in this mind so that he would check it out later with his Sharingan.

"Oh wow I think I'm in love! He's so handsome!"

Sasuke slid his eyes towards three girls wearing black and blue uniforms. They were staring at him as if he was some sort of fallen angel… it was disgusting. _Pre-Konoha all over again._

"Are you kidding? He's the sexiest guy I've ever seen!"

Dumbledore chuckled alongside Sasuke as he overheard the girls. Taking a quick glance towards the boy's face he was slightly surprised to see not even a flicker of emotion on the pale face. Just when Dumbledore thought that Sasuke couldn't get more serious, the boy's demeanor froze like ice… he was ten times worse than Severus.

The staff was of course already seated at the front table, and only two seats seemed to be open; the front middle seat and another chair next to that. Their approaching forms drew the attention of not only the few students in the room, but all the teachers.

"Sasuke! I'm so glad to see you up and about! I was beginning to think that you'd never get out of that room!" Madam Pomfrey said from her position on the far right. The other Professors and staff members were honestly surprised that not only was there a new arrival, but he had been in the castle without their knowledge.

"A late student?" A woman wearing too much pink questioned. And Sasuke thought Naruto's obsession with orange was bad…"Why was I not informed of this?"

Dumbledore smiled before leading Sasuke around the long table and to their seats. "No, he is acquainted with an old friend of mine, and I'm just doing a favor. He is purely a guest. Hogwarts staff, this is Sasuke Uchiha."

Everyone nodded curiously down at him before introducing themselves. Sasuke had to honestly say that they were the most diverse group of individuals he'd ever met, and that was saying something. He'd never say it out loud, but between the odd clothes they adorned, and their contrasting mannerisms, Sasuke was reminded that of a circus of sorts.

"Mr. Uchiha…"

"Just Sasuke."

"Sasuke, then. Aren't you a little young to be out of school? And where are your parents." Asked the newly introduced Dolores Umbridge. Sasuke's fingers twitched at that comment. Hoping that that wouldn't be one he'd hear too often at his stay, he decided to get it over with. Why put off till tomorrow what could be done today?

"Hn I finished schooling a long time ago, and I don't have blood related family nor do I have or need guardians."

The woman looked slightly offended at his harsh tone, but all together astonished with the way he spoke. Was it possible to make speaking an art?

"How very _childish_ of you, Mr. Uchiha. Every _child_ needs a guardian." Snape sneered. As much as he loved seeing Umbridge being put in her place, he absolutely loathed when children thought they didn't need a guardian like some arrogant fool. The _boy_ knew nothing of the horrors of the world, and if he continued to believe that he would be just fine, then Snape had no qualms with letting Sasuke learn his lesson the hard way… it was too bad that Snape assumed too much of Sasuke.

Turning to face the sallow looking man, Sasuke's eyes flashed red for a split second as he glared at Snape through the corner of his eye. Catching a few quick memories from the wizard's mind, Sasuke was tempted to make a comment on the older man's own past guardians/parents, but thought to use it later when it would cut deeper. Giving Snape once last glare, he scoffed and turned back to picking an odd looking fruit apart.

Sasuke was rethinking his decision of having meal times here during breakfast and dinner once and a while. The questions he could handle with a skillful use of white lies and a vague tinge to every subject, but the stares were a nuisance. As sleepy eyed students started to trickle in the already wide open doors, students attention were immediately directed to him. Sasuke had to wonder if being new at Hogwarts was a good or bad thing because he was getting mixed vibes everywhere. While the Sharingan had the ability to see into people's memories, it was near impossible to read flowing memories…or in other words he couldn't read minds. One boy in particular was looking at him as if he was a wolf in sheep's skin.

"Potter's already gotten himself worked up about the new arrival." Snape muttered under his breath, but loud enough for most of the table to hear.

"Now Severus, you can't blame the boy. In fact, I almost congratulate him for his caution."

Sasuke did not miss the 'almost' that slipped into the sentence. Peering at the old man through the his side bangs, Sasuke could easily tell that Dumbledore was not happy that Potter was so untrusting. Shrugging his shoulders mentally he went back to picking at his food.

Most of it was too fattening for him to the point that it wouldn't settle well in his stomach, but many of their fruits, vegetables and meats were unusually fresh. As long as he stayed away from most things with bread, cheese etc in it he would be fine.

Placing the odd utensil down awkwardly, (he was embarrassed that he had to watch some of the staff use them before he could) he stared blankly at the people seated on the other half of the room. He was not surprised that a Lovegood look alike was mingling in the crowd seeing as the mother knew Dumbledore who ran a school, and she had a daughter. _Naruto would probably tell Lovegood's daughter that she's not dead._ A small annoying voice rang in his head. _But Naruto is the only one who would be able to comfort her correctly._ Deciding on not even confronting to her at all, he faced the woman next to him. The woman, McGonagall, kept sneaking glances at him suspiciously along with the Snape.

"Where did you say you were from, Sasuke?" McGonagall questioned after clearing her throat.

"I didn't."

Sasuke was satisfied that the brown haired woman had gotten the memo and backed off, but Snape, who was disgustingly reminded of Danzo something or other, didn't seem to be giving up anytime soon. "Care to enlighten us then?"

"No."

Getting up from his seat he started to walk around the table, but was briefly stopped by Madam Pomfrey. "Are you going back to the room? Because I won't be able to come in tonight, and I wanted to see how Naruto was doing on that third set of potions."

They both walked out together, drawing eyes like magnets until Sasuke could not be seen any longer.

Life in the Great Hall seemed to burst like a balloon, and the sound was twice as loud the moment the mysterious male walked out with Madam Pomfrey.

"You suppose he's a new teacher or maybe a relative of Cho Chang's? I hope he's not a friend of Umbridge's. I don't think I can take someone who would willingly be her friend." Ron said while chewing on a thick piece of sausage. Hermione looked at Ron with an exasperated glare, before running a hand through her thick hair.

"That makes no sense at all! He's way too young to be a teacher, and if he was a relative, don't you think he would have at least said hello to her or she would have said something? Not to mention that's exactly like saying Dean and Angelina are related! Plus he didn't look happy with any of the teachers much less Professor Umbridge."

"Alright, alright! No need to get all technical on me, 'Mione. Then why do you think he's here."

Hermione straightened her robes before looking uncharacteristically smug with her deduction.

"It's quite obvious. He's training to be a magical healer, and Madam Pomfrey is showing him the ropes."

Harry snorted before continuing it swirl his juice around in his cup. "He doesn't look like the healing type." Harry said bitterly.

Hermione gave a look of pity towards Harry who was trying not to fall into another rage under the stares and glares from past friends and welcoming classmates.

"Harry, I know what you're thinking and…"

"Yeah and last time we didn't think that, Moody ended up not being Moody. Every year Hermione, every year! I just wish for once the world would have picked someone else to be the good guy. Now this year not only do I have the whole school against me, but two new 'evils'."

Hermione sighed and was about to comfort the stressing boy, when Ginny ran up to her in excitement and a flushed face. "Hermione! Did you know that there's a new person in the castle!"

Ron almost spit out his food with snorts of laughter. "A little late, Ginny. He was just in here."

Ginny crossed her arms stubbornly, but only wagged her finger at her older brother. "Fine. I was a little late finding that out, but I bet you don't know his name or why he's here."

Apparently she had drawn a medium sized band of girls and boys at the news. She made them all lean in as if it was the biggest secret in the world.

" I woke up a little later today, and I was hurrying down here so I wouldn't have to rush during breakfast. When I ran around a corner, I almost crashed into him, but just as I was falling, he caught like nothing. It was like he was expecting me or something."

Lavender Brown sighed from beside her, and fluttered her eyelashes with a dreamy far off look on her face. "You're so luck! You guys definitely had a moment! Ssssooo Romantic!"

Ignoring her, but with a slight blush adorning her cheeks, Ginny coughed into her hand. "Anyway, apparently his name is Sasuke. Really exotic isn't it? As for why he is here, well all I overheard them say was some metaphorical blah. I thought Hermione could figure that out."

"Thanks Ginny. Harry and I are just here to fill space." Ron said in an annoyed tone. This 'Sasuke' fellow was already trouble… he was never going to get a girlfriend at this rate.

Ginny ignored her brother for the millionth time that morning before starting up again. "Madam Pomfrey just asked him something and all I heard was… um How did he say it? _I'm not interested. I'm just here to fix what was broken._ Yeah, that's what he said."

Harry played with a loose string on his cloak sleeve. So maybe Sasuke was here for some magical item or maybe a creature of some sort?

"Why is he _here_ and not somewhere like St. Mungo's?" Harry murmured. With his voice breaking into the atmosphere, people began moving away; avoiding Harry Potter floating back into to their minds. Sending an apologetic glance towards him, Ginny walked away.

"We can find out later. We should start heading to class. I'm pretty sure we're learning about a plant in Herbology that can change color."

* * *

><p>"…That was Ginny Weasley. She's turned out quite pretty over the years. And look, I think she likes you…blush and all."<p>

Sasuke sneered before shaking his head. "I'm not interested in anything, but helping Naruto. I'm just here to fix what was broken."

Madam Pomfrey nodded her head in understanding. Ascending the stone steps and into the office, Madam Pomfrey quickly checked Naruto over and bustled out of the room under Sasuke's watchful glare so she could go back to her own office.

Sasuke waved Milly off, whom in turn, faded into the wind and back to her own duties. The moment no one else was in the room, but the sleeping blonde, Sasuke slipped into a chair, and tried to control his breathing. The bloodlust still tainted him, and he wasn't used to letting so many people get away with such impudence and disrespect. If it wasn't for the fact that Dumbledore definitely wouldn't approve of one of his teacher's being burned to a crisp, Sasuke would have set a few of them aflame with Amaterasu. _Being a pacifist is harder than I thought. _When his mind was finally calm and his fingers stopped itching for the familiar rough handle of a sword, Sasuke sat with his fingers intertwined and watched over Naruto. He'd have to leave in a bit to check out the castle, but just for a little while… wouldn't hurt. A small part of Sasuke wanted to see how Naruto and himself would fair in a match seeing as the one during the war wasn't equal on both sides. Both of them had fought through dozens of ninjas, and when they had finally gone at each other, half their chakra was already depleted. Sasuke didn't even get to see Naruto in his six paths sage mode nor did Naruto get to see him in full Sharingan potential.

But now, Naruto looked so small. On the battle field he seemed like a giant of power, but under the white and brown sheets, he looked… not fragile or weak… just small.

"Naruto, I wonder if you would be angry with me for taking you from Konoha. There is so much I don't know about you anymore. Do you still like ramen? Do you still have an orange jumpsuit? Do you still like Sakura?"

Sasuke reached his hand out, and brushed his fingers over Naruto's open palm and knuckles. "I hadn't realized until now how little I knew of you before, and yet when I think of a happy memory, you were always in it. You're such a moron." _But I wouldn't want you any other way._

Sasuke leaned over, and placed his head on the surface of the bed by Naruto's hand as he continued to run his long callous fingers over Naruto's own rough and slightly scared fingers. Sasuke wondered how Naruto would react when he woke up. _Would he throw punches and scream at me for leaving and fighting against them?_ Sasuke didn't know. He was so confused.

"Wake up, soon. Wake up you idiot or else." _Because I don't think I could take it much longer without you._

He sat there for another hour before summoning Milly, and leaving through the window on the other side of the room. Letting himself free fall for a while, he landed on both feet steadily on the stone ground. Jumping from rooftop to rooftop, he quickly looked into each window that he passed; seeing beds, classrooms full of children etc. When he finally reached the large window to the Great Hall, he checked if anyone else was still inside, and then climbed through an open section where it looked like birds came through… if the feathers were any indication. Ignoring the popping sound coming from his feet as he walked up in the wall, He stood an inch from the sky like illusion on the ceiling. He could faintly see the arched rafters past it, as if looking through a mist. Activating his eyes, he saw the familiar structure of a well weaved illusion, but this one was old and starting to disintegrate, which was probably why you could see through it. Sasuke imagined that when it was first created, it really did look like there wasn't a roof, but with time, many things fade.

Sasuke wondered if anyone had ever tried to fix it, and wondered if this was one of the things that Dumbledore had mentioned… though one of the 'unfixable projects' in Dumbledore's mind.

"Well, I don't know how this was originally crafted, but it's worth a shot."

Hanging upside down by just his feet, Sasuke went through a couple of hand signs and let his chakra weave its way through the magic already there. He watched as the magic hungrily started to grab hold of his chakra. In most cases, he would have had to constantly feed the sky illusion so his own would stay present, but the magic seemed to grab hold of it. In a way, chakra was like a scent. It would stick to something pretty strongly, but if it wasn't constantly reapplied, or there, it would start to fade away. That was why Sasuke found it interesting that the magic looked like it was holding onto the chakra strongly enough to encase it. Watching it carefully with the Sharingan, he observed as soon his chakra seemed to overpower the magic, and engulfed it. In a few seconds, it looked like the magic had been contained in a cage... a cage of chakra.

Falling from the ceiling, he landed lightly on his feet and looked up to see his 'masterpiece'. It really did look like there wasn't a roof now. "That was quite impressive; the ceiling and the jump. I was sure you had gone sixes and sevens jumping from that height. Never seen magic like that before, and I've been dead for a long time."

Sasuke shot around to see who had been there and, mentally berated himself on how he didn't sense the person. But as his eyes landed on the individual who had spoken, he wasn't surprised why. "You have quite the talent. I dare say, Rowena Ravenclaw wouldn't have done it better herself. The name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, or Nearly Headless Nick or Nick or Nicholas… or Sir Nicholas, Whichever you would prefer."

Sasuke took a seat on top of one of the cleared tables. "Sasuke Uchiha. I have never seen a ghost before. Tell me, did you know Ravenclaw?"

"Oh no, but the Bloody Baron talks about her like she's the bees knees, and her daughter, Helena… but some people call her the Grey Lady, is also somewhere in the castle."

Sasuke looked at the ghost in fascination before flipping off the table. He took one more look at the ceiling and motioned Sir Nicholas over.

"Walk with me, Nicholas. I have many questions to ask."

The Gryffindor ghost floated alongside Sasuke who had his hands deep within his pockets. They traveled higher up into the castle until they reached a beautiful hallway of colorful glass windows.

"How does one become a ghost?" Sasuke said as he sat on the two foot brick frame on the bottom side of the window. Sir Nicholas raised his transparent eyebrows in surprise.

"No one has asked me that before. Well… it's a very confusing process. There might me a book about it in the library, but there's a simpler way to explain it."

Sasuke nodded when the old ghost paused so that he would continue. "In short, the moment you die, by any means, you would have had to experience an emotional and magical burst of energy from within you. But of course that happens to most people when they die… so why do few people become ghosts? No one knows."

"Can you possess someone?" Sasuke asked as he once again continued to stroll across the castle.

"Some can, but I cannot."

Hearing the bell tower ring which signaled the end of a class, Sasuke disappeared in a flash; leaving the see through man in the hallway wondering where his companion had gone.

He watched from atop the tallest tower of the castle as students bustled here and there through the grounds. _Is it possible to fish for Naruto's consciousness?_ In essence a ghost was magic, and if he could use his chakra as a rope between him and Naruto's mind, would it be possible to have a ghost safely enter Naruto's mind and shake him awake.

"Don't forget what lies in the depths of Naruto's mind." Sasuke muttered to himself. Maybe it would be too dangerous, but ghosts were dead anyway. Storing that theory for later, Sasuke slid through the open window under him and into a messy room. Crossing the room to the wooden door, Sasuke could obviously sense another person on the other side, but didn't bother to hid or run.

Swinging the door open, he didn't even give the boy a good glance before slithering past him.

"Hey! What were you doing in my room? Hey! Stop!"

Sasuke easily ducked to the side as a light beam went whizzing past his head. Finally turning around to face the angered boy, he finally took in the messy black hair and framed glasses.

"Just passing through, Potter."

He then vanished in a puff of smoke, before Harry could even blink. If Sasuke had known that just mentioning the boy's last name to him would cause the boy to become even more suspicious, then he would have never even opened his mouth. But unfortunately the ball was already rolling, and Harry was determined to find out everything he could about Sasuke because Harry was not a victim… at least to everything, but bad circumstance and misunderstandings.

Harry rushed into his room and checked if there was anything out of place. But nothing was missing and nothing seemed to be touched or moved to a different location. Tapping his wand lightly against a random wooden surface, he picked up the book he had run back to get, and left the room. Closing the door behind him, he headed to his next class. There was something really off about the new guy, Sasuke Uchiha. Something didn't _feel_ right about him. It wasn't exactly evil, but the magic around him felt somewhat intense if not headache inducing. Determined to get to the bottom of the mystery, Harry spent his entire time in class that day planning what to do about it or at least thinking about it when Hermione looked the other way. Tapping his forehead to the desk, Harry frowned. His hair was going to turn white at this rate.

_Sometimes I wonder what's going to be the death of me... Voldemort of school._

* * *

><p>Naruto groaned as he tried to lift himself off the watery floor of his mind. He couldn't even open his eyes as he lay there flat on his back. After a while, he cracked his eyes open, and peered up at the sewer pipe lined walls. He hated being here… it was so depressing, and even with absence of his darker self, this place was swarming with bad emotions… mostly coming from the Kyuubi. Dragging himself up right and sitting against the wall nearest to him, Naruto tried to recall the last thing that happened to him. He didn't know how long he'd been in here, but everything felt too heavy, like breathy mist or being weighed down by gravity. Concentrating hard, he heard something echoing through his mind, as he finally broke through most of the haze. He just let himself float; swimming in memories but not grasping them to fully become awake. <em>"<em>_Naruto…angry…Konoha…orange…realized…"_

Naruto tried to concentrate on the words, but it was just so hard.

"_Happy… moron… up…Wake up you idiot or else." _

Was that… Sasuke? He was probably just imagining it. There was no way that… no he couldn't think like that. Naruto closed his eyes and tried to will himself out of sleep, but something kept on pushing him back. Starting to panic, Naruto kept on pushing and pulling, but nothing worked. He ran farther into his mind to see if there was an end, but Naruto just felt like he had been travelling on a road too long, trying to find the way back out.

His heart started to beat faster and faster as he started to hit and bang at the walls of his mind, trying to get out. The darkness in his mind suddenly looked twice as daunting and suffocating, and if he had been paying attention, he would have noticed the tears that started to fall down his cheeks. Killer Bee had warned him about getting trapped in his mind, and he tried not to think about the older ninja telling him that it was near impossible to escape. Though he didn't want to think about that part too much. He was Konoha's number one knucklehead and most unpredictable orange Hokage, so in the end, there's nothing he couldn't accomplish... right?

Trying to calm himself, Naruto started to run along the many halls and corridors in his mind in hopes of finding an exit of some kind. At first glance, when Naruto couldn't find one, he felt quite a bit more disheartened at the lack of discovery. Trapped inside his mind, Naruto was vaguely reminded of his short time in Blood Prison.

"Let me out! Let me out! Someone! Anyone! Sakura! Kakashi! Help! Sasuke! Sasuke! SASUKE!"

Naruto slid down onto his knees when the only answer he got was silence. He had to think of another way out… there was always a solution to every problem. And he would find it. He_ was_ Naruto Uzumaki, after all.

* * *

><p>Milly sat on the stool, and continued to sew a ripped blanket from a second year dormitory most likely from Hufflepuff judging by the colors. She jumped as she heard a small gasp, and look up at Naruto. Milly leaped onto the bed in worry as tears started to leak past closed lids and scarred cheeks. She watched with wide eyes as his mouth started to move slight.<p>

"…ke. Sasuke." It was quiet enough that Milly had to lean in an inch from his face to hear, but when she heard the familiar name, she was gone with a snap of her finger to tell Master Uchiha. Naruto was getting better…

* * *

><p>Yay… Review!<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Naruto is unconscious after his final fight with Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't want Konoha to take Naruto back. Whisking the boy away, Sasuke travels to the ends of their world and farther all for the sake of one thing...Main Character #2:Naruto SasuNaru

Thank you everyone who reviewed because it really brightens my day, and the suggestions given are usually followed.

_Last chapter if you forgot: Milly sat on the stool, and continued to sew a ripped blanket from a second year dormitory most likely from Hufflepuff judging by the colors. She jumped as she heard a small gasp, and look up at Naruto. Milly leaped onto the bed in worry as tears started to leak past closed lids and scarred cheeks. She watched with wide eyes as his mouth started to move slight._

_"…ke. Sasuke." It was quiet enough that Milly had to lean in an inch from his face to hear, but when she heard the familiar name, she was gone with a snap of her finger to tell Master Uchiha. Naruto was getting better…_

* * *

><p>Milly appeared in the middle of the Grand Staircase which was strangely jerking from left to right every few feet. She staggered at each motion and looked up with wide eyes to see Sasuke with his hands on the staircase; moving the palms of his hands smoothly on the stone surface. The shifting stopped though when he locked, now red whirling eyes, on the small house elf. She squeaked in fright and surprise before quickly bowing and racing up to meet him two feet away.<p>

"Master Uchiha! Milly thinks Master Uchiha should come to the room! Master Naruto is…"

She never got to finish her sentence as Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving the she elf to unsteadily follow behind.

Sasuke appeared right outside the room, and paid no attention when he slammed the door open with so much force, the hinges came slightly unscrewed from their position on the wall. Rushing to the bed, he checked the blonde boy over to see if he was injured or if something was wrong.

"Milly heard Master Naruto speak, Milly did!"

Sasuke felt a huge weight on his chest lift that he didn't know was there. Placing one knee on the bed, Sasuke bent over and held Naruto's face with his hands while lightly slapped him on each whisker scarred cheek. Sasuke shook Naruto almost roughly, and held him with a grasp that was bordering bruise worthy. When the blonde's eyes didn't so much as flicker, Sasuke set him back down on the bed.

"Hey, idiot. Naruto, can you hear me? Naruto come on. Milly what did he say? Tell me what he said!"

Milly tried to answer but the air suddenly became unbearably thick and she was drowned with a feeling of sudden dread. When she didn't immediately answer she felt her feet leave the ground and her back hit the smooth stone wall. She struggled and squirmed against Sasuke's hold like a fish out of water, but couldn't even begin to pry the strong vice like grip wrapped around her dirty clothes. Milly's body shook in fright when they saw Sasuke's eyes up close. Like on the stairwell, they were a vibrant crimson red, but up close she could see the eerie shape they took.

His left eye was black on the outer most layers which contained a red six point star inside of another differently shaped red point star. His right was like the left except there was a three point wheel with a circle in the center in the middle of both the two stars. It was intricate and detailed, and if Milly hadn't been so close, she would have thought that they appeared empty like glass.

"Speak quickly or your insides are coming out, and I'll make sure you survive long enough to feel the salt I pour on the wounds before you die."

"M-M-ast… h-h-he s-s-a-id Sas-s-suk-e-e. H-e-e sa-i-id…n-a-name."

With a snap of her fingers, Milly was smoke in Sasuke's hands and disappeared to her small bed in the elf quarters near the kitchens. Sasuke was breathing harshly. He let his back face Naruto; unwilling to look at him even for a second. It wasn't fair after all. To hear that Naruto had called out his name, and he couldn't do anything about it. He wasn't even there when it happened, and he missed probably the first chance of getting Naruto conscious. It was irrational, but maybe not being by Naruto's side 24/7 would be just as bad as when he left for Orochimaru and left him cold and half dead in the rain. This situation almost made it seem so anyway,

He hadn't realized how much this whole ordeal had had a toll on him until now. The cold emptiness, and barrels of anger were starting to chew on the edges of his reason, mind and heart. He had been able to push back the familiar feeling with the hope of starting over, and leaving their world with Konoha, but it seemed that the feeling hadn't completely left.

Passing by the bed without even glancing at the figure seemingly sleeping peacefully in it, he threw open the window and leaped out. He paid no attention to the gasps and screams of students as they watched him fall a few meters before 'magically' bouncing on the wall adjacent to him and on to each roof top. At the speed he was going, he had unknowingly caused the grass underneath him to rip, and singe with the friction, speed and force he was running at.

He was well into the Dark Forest before he stopped and threw back a pale fist; making contact with a thick, tall tree in front of him. The tree groaned and cracked under the power of the punches until Sasuke's knuckles were bleeding, and the tree had started to bend and fall over. The tree toppled all the way to the ground, and in the process, knocked down three other smaller trees. But Sasuke had pulled his attention away from the destroyed tree to find his next victim. Spinning on his feet, Sasuke slammed the heel of his foot into another tree, but still didn't even stop to watch as the bark flew in every which direction in wide chunks or ever just small chips.

The surrounding trees were torn to shreds, and the ground and shrubbery were burnt to a crisp. Sasuke could sense several presences not too far off, but they only stood by and never approached. Snapping his head up, he glared up at the brightly shining sun; lovely, warm, radiant, beautiful…Naruto. It was that feeling he got whenever he thought of Naruto on days like these. It had started sometime during his training away with Orochimaru, and at first he was sure it was something along the lines of hate, but now… he wasn't so sure. Swinging his arm upwards, he sent bolts of lightning up into the sky; aiming at the sun each time. Sasuke pushed harder and harder until there was barely anything left, and the fell to his knees.

"Why can't I ever reach you Naruto?"

He rolled onto his back, and blankly watched the trees sway from side to side without disturbance. His eyes deactivated, and he could feel the soreness and clot behind his eyes that usually came with it. He had to promise himself that he would use it less because he still didn't know if this version of the Sharingan could make you go blind. He knew that the earlier stages of the Mangekyō could make you go blind seeing as it had started to happen to him before he took his older brother's eyes, but the man in the orange mask had given very little information on the final metamorphosis of the Uchiha eyes unless is happened on the benefits of having it in battle.

Sasuke flinched his head to the side quickly when an arrow pierced the ground an inch from his right cheek. Not even moving, he listened as hooves clopped on the dirt floor and a few feet from his body. He heard the stretch and strain of a bow and arrow along with the quiet stomping of the other occupant's feet. _Centaur…_

"I would kill you right now seeing as you are not a foal, but I cannot see nor tell _what_ you are. You look human, but you smell of hawks and snakes."

Sasuke's lips curled up in a frown at that comment. It had been a long time since he had summoned Manda (who died in battle), or any snake for that matter, but it seemed that the past was still not easy to erase. He half considered just transporting out of the forest, but he felt to frayed and old in that moment to even move. The centaur, sensing that he was not going to immediately answer, nor was he going to attack, sat down and watched Sasuke with suspicious and cautious eyes. It reminded Sasuke strangely enough of Gaara, the red haired boy who he'd once fought with so many years ago. Turning his head to face the male sitting across from him, Sasuke opened his mouth to speak.

"How close can one get to the sun without burning?"

The centaur, Ronan, didn't know exactly how to go about the situation. He could definitely kill the dark haired youth, but it had been a while, if ever, since he talked civilly to a 'human' (if that was what he was anyway). If only just for a bit…

"How can one determine something such as that if it varies on attempt and measure of souls?"

Sasuke had read about centaurs, but in summary, he figured they were just a group of beings that knew too much, and held a lot of locks and keys to answers.

"The sun is something entirely of itself, but fire can be a part of it. But what of lightning?"

"It is neither close nor far. Nature has a cycle, and lightning will change into something else as do all things in life."

Sasuke's lips twitched up at the rather philosophical conversation he was having. Sasuke was both vague and very specific to what he was referring to and what he wanted to hear. But when you worked with people that were riddles by heart, and had a brother like Itachi, it was easy to withhold a conversation that sounded like a whole bunch of crap, but meant a lot. Lifting himself up from the ground, Sasuke faced the tense Centaur and sighed. Plucking the arrow from the dirt, Sasuke straightened the feathers on the end and tossed it back to Ronin who deftly caught it.

"I don't know what I am. I think I used to be human a long time ago, but now I'm just waiting for the sun to come out. Maybe then… maybe then." Sasuke answered to Ronan's previous question. Normally he didn't feel the need to explain himself to anyone anymore, but he figured that there was no harm considering he didn't hold a deep seated grudge against anyone in _this_ world.

Sasuke bowed deeply to Ronin before disappearing in a flash, and into the high tree branches. Ronin stayed still for quite a while. He was curious of why none of the centaurs in the clan had foreseen such a person appearing. There were very few that could calmly talk to a centaur, show respect and not have ulterior motives, and Ronin didn't know whether to mention it or not. For once, he thought that it would be fine to let it be without the added comments of his fellow centaurs… just once.

Sasuke reached the edge of the forest until he could see a group of people huddled in the clearing. They were loudly conversing with each other, and from what Sasuke could pick up, it was to find out who or what was making all 'the awful ruckus' in the forest. Wiping his bleeding knuckles on his dark pants, Sasuke walked down the tree he was on slowly until he reached the bottom and stepped off. The people conglomerated together were most of the teachers and of course Dumbledore who seemed to have noticed him the moment his feet hit the mossy ground. Coughing into his hand he drew the attention of the group of wizards and witches his way.

The first to react was Madam Pomfrey, who was horrified to see Sasuke looking like he crawled under a barb wire fence, and scraping the skin of his knuckles in the process. She bustled over to him and at any other time, Sasuke would have pushed her away, but he was too tired to do anything but watch as she inspected his purpling knuckles. There was a beat or three of silence before the world started to rotate back up again for the other wizards. After that, the other magic users moved towards him whether it was to check if 'the young lad was okay' or to find out 'what in Merlin's name was he doing in the forest'.

Sasuke only shrugged before simply saying, "I needed to let off some steam, and I didn't think it wise to demolition your castle in the process."

Umbridge was in a tizzy fit; her face a purple and her lips pressed together so tightly, Sasuke was sure that they would go numb with the pressure. Sasuke blocked out the sound of her voice as he silently had a conversation with Dumbledore, and was glad that the old man understood; the only thing he received was a warning stare and a quick wink. Dumbledore then tried to heard Umbridge away from the group.

"No! I will not allow this! Let's confiscate his wand! He is obviously a danger to the students!" Her face had turned an ugly purple in anger as she glared up at Sasuke. She stuck out her hand as if to mean that Sasuke would hand over his 'wand' immediately.

Sasuke glared and frowned at the wrinkled, pudgy hand that he imagined he would cut off with one swing of his sword if it wasn't for the fact that he couldn't afford to lose his place in the castle what with Naruto still in coma land. Raising one fine eyebrow, he sighed before turning away and made his way towards the huge lake. He didn't have to listen to some old, weak woman babbling and demanding things that she had no authority to ask for.

"I am not your student, nor would I ever want to be. You can't ask me to hand over my weapons. That power lies in the _Headmaster_ of the school. Know your place."

Sasuke said coldly. He felt annoyance as he heard steps behind him from the teachers who were trying their best to keep up with him. Glancing behind him quickly, he could see Snape advancing quickly with his arm ready to grab him by the shoulder as if to stop him. Sasuke scoffed as he quickened his pace. Finally reaching the dark watery shores, he spun around and watched with amusement as the men and women scrambled towards him; except for Dumbledore who was chewing on something yellow in the same place they were when he had exited the Forbidden Forest. The old man looked to be poking something with his foot in disinterest, and Sasuke thought, that all the Headmaster needed was an orange book and a mask and the image would be complete. Shaking his thoughts away from his former gray haired shinobi teacher, and his present gray-haired 'wizard landlord', Sasuke slid onto the dark water. Pushing away from the shore like a man with skates on ice, he inwardly chuckled at the reactions.

"How the bloody hell did he do that?"

"This is why he shouldn't be near the students! He's probably a halfbreed of some kind!"

"Where is his wand?"

The professors from Sasuke's view looked like a mess of people tripping all over each other. The exaggerated gestures and sharp pointing didn't help their image either. But McGonagall was the first of the Hogwart's staff to calm down as she took a huge breath and let it out. Straightening her slightly ruffled dress, Minerva coughed into her hand.

"You will not harm any students unless in self defense, correct? And you will not interrupt their studies with tom foolery, yes?"

Sasuke nodded slowly with a 'well one person isn't completely stupid' look on his usually emotionless face. McGonagall nodded her head and promptly picked up her long, floor length dress. "I have classes to teach."

She walked back to the castle with some of the other teachers who didn't want to waste too much of the day trying to understand someone who's vague and simplistic answers only made the person even more confusing. Snape walked towards Dumbledore instead; obviously intent on squeezing as much information out of the loony old man as possible. There were few who stayed though; Umbridge, who was mad enough to stab Sasuke with a Blood Quill, Madam Hooch who wanted to learn how to walk on water, and Madam Pomfrey who held general concern towards the cold boy. Sasuke made himself comfortable on the surface of the water, and watched the creatures below stare right back at him. This might take a while.

* * *

><p>Harry was most definitely Hermione's best friend. He always would be too because no matter how the green eyed boy acted, he would do anything for his friends, and he really was a sweet boy. He was just having a tough year, and Hermione would do her best to make sure that Harry survived it and stayed sane enough to take his OWLS. The witch had been pretty sure that she could take care of Harry with just Umbridge running around, but the new foreign male, Sasuke, was making the job a lot harder.<p>

Dedicating her time to her studies, helping Ron with his, keeping Harry from going bonkers, and keeping her female friends entertained enough to keep them off her back about her choice of style, or lack thereof, was enough to make any girl want to pull her hair out in frustration. So when she had seen the young dark haired male leap out of the window, and somehow bounce around like an astronaut in zero gravity, she'd was determined to figure this out before Harry found out and started poking around himself.

Judging from where Sasuke had jumped out the window, Hermione could tell that it was somewhere near Dumbledore's office. That being her first clue to the mystery, led her towards the gargoyle entrance that blocked the way to Dumbledore's office. Making her way through the hallways, she was surprised to see Cho Chang and the Patil twins already in front of the Gargoyle that guarded the Headmaster's office.

"Cho, we've named every candy we know." Padma mumbled under her breath.

"Maybe it's not a candy?" Pavarti pitched in; somewhat left out between the musings of two Ravenclaw students even if one of them was her sister.

"Don't be silly! It's been some form of candy for the past five years, and probably before then." Padma rebutted in frustration.

Hermione approached them hurriedly with a small smile on her face. Tapping them on their shoulders to draw their attentions, she placed her bag down besides Cho's, Padma's and Pavarti's right next to the entrance.

"Hermione! Believe it or not, we were waiting for one of you to come… that is Harry, Ron or you. As a resident Hogwarts detective, we knew you'd be snooping around, so we decided to join in on the fun." Pavarti said with a laugh.

Hermione flushed at that part of her reputation. "Oh well… it's not fun and games… so you have to be careful." She finished rather lamely. They all waved her off before slinging their arms around her. The twins tried to imitate Ron and Harry in asking what took her so long and such and such, but gave up with a giggle when all they could do was laugh at how ridiculous they sounded.

"Anyway," Cho said with a small smile, "We've been trying to get into Dumbledore's office for ten minutes, and we've so far named every candy and pastry we know…any ideas?"

Hermione tapped her chin in thought. Resting her hands on her hips, she stepped up to the Gargoyle and looked up. It was a straight way up, and if she leaned back, she could see the hole that lead to the hallway that then lead to Dumbledore's office. Snapping her fingers, she turned towards Pavarti who was currently inspecting her nails.

"Pavarti, I won't turn you in or anything, but I know you've been buying a lot of the Weasley twins' products. I heard that they invented something called…"

"Oh! Oh you mean those!" Sticking her hand in her bag, she threw out two boxes of Skiving Snackboxes, and pulled out a box with footprints and finger prints covering the surface.

"George gave them to me when I caught him kissing Katie Bell in a closet. He didn't want anyone to know yet, so for compensation he gave me these for free. They're Stick-a-Walls... oh whoops don't tell anyone I said that. You didn't hear anything…"

Slipping the pack out, there were six pairs of feet attachables and six pairs of gloves. Throwing a set to each of the girls, they all started to scale the walls.

"I guess, in the end, it was a good thing that Ron and Harry didn't come." Cho mumbled from the end of their climbing train. "I can see right up all your skirts."

They all laughed at the comment, and Hermione smiled inwardly. She really needed to open up her circle of friends because as much as she loved her boys, they could never be girls.

Once they were able to get past the wooden door, they snuck into Dumbledore's office. The whirling objects, and trays of candy were there as usual along with a few extra books and items added to the mix. The people in the pictures were sleeping as usual; old age affecting them even pictorially. Cho nudged Hermione lightly, and pointed to the door at the back of the room that was partly out of sight. A side pillar was 'conveniently' set in front of it, and out of sight if someone were to stand in front of the desk, which was simplistically clever and completely Dumbledore-like.

Motioning for the three other girls to follow, Hermione lead the way to the door and drew her wand. Opening the door, she let it slowly swing open to reveal an empty hallway with several doors on the left and right side walls. Poking their heads in slightly, Hermione was the first to move in; followed by the other girls.

"This is so exciting." Pavarti whispered as they tip toed down the hallway. Getting light glares, and shushing as her response, she huffed in offense. Crossing her arms, Pavarti rolled her eyes dramatically until it made a large arc to land on a door to her right. It was slightly ajar unlike the other doors so far that they had passed.

"Hey guys… this one is open." Pavarti whispered again; drawing the attention of the wandering females. They crossed over and stood in front of the door. Not really knowing if it was safe to open the door or not, Cho set her dainty fingers on the door, and pushed it lightly until it slowly swung open.

The room was dimly lit with books placed on almost every table and chair. Hermione absentmindedly wondered if one of the books she had feverishly been looking for in the library the other day lay among one of the numerous masses. The room had two beds; one of them that looked like it hadn't been slept in for days, and the other one which was…occupied.

All of them froze in place when they saw the lump in the bed. One of thinner sheets on top had been blown over the mystery person's face by a soft breeze that had come in from the window.

While Ravenclaw students in general were rather smart, their greatest downfall was mostly inquisitiveness, so when you had two students from that very house, a brash Gryffindor twin, and a girl who's curiosity rivaled a cat's… well they just had to know who lay under the sheets.

Scooting forward, Hermione pinched the edge of the sheet with two fingers, and slowly drew them back to reveal what was underneath.

All four girls peered down at the tanned face. The boy's face looked thinned out, and the tan was partly dampened by a sickly pale appearance and sweat on his brow. The mop of blonde hair was messy and tangled, and the three scars running down each of his cheeks gave certain touch to the sleeping boy. All of the girls unknowingly and simultaneously thought how it was even possible for a sickly looking boy to look attractive all the same. Padma reached with her hand and shook the boy, but he didn't stir at all.

"He must be really sick." Cho said with concern as she pointed out the large collection of bottles on the nightstand.

The gears in Hermione's mind were whirling furiously, and after a few more seconds, the light bulbs were flashing and the dots connected.

"He's with Sasuke! That's why Sasuke was seen a lot with Madam Pomfrey, and pretty much all the other Professors didn't know who he was until later. Sasuke must have brought the blonde to the castle because he was sick!"

Padma nodded vigorously in agreement. "But that doesn't explain why he's _here_, and not at St. Mungo's."

"He is rather young looking. Maybe he didn't have the money." Cho pitched in.

"Guuyys." Pavarti drew out from her position beside the bed.

Padma, Cho and Hermione turned her way to see Pavarti leaning in close to the blonde haired boy's face. "He's mumbling something."

They all leaned in closer to hear what the blonde boy had to say. The room was deathly silent for two minutes before Hermione sighed, and moved to back up. As her hand started to lift off of the side of the bed, a hand shot out and grabbed her wrist with deadly accuracy.

They all jumped in surprise and screamed bloody murder. It got quiet again as they watched Hermione stay stalk still with the tan hand still latched on to her wrist until it fell back boneless onto the bed. Leaning in again, except with more hesitance and muscles ready to leap back, the girls watched the boy.

"Sasuke…wa rokudenashi." The sleeping boy softly muttered.

"Does…does anyone know what he just said?" Hermione whispered.

"It's sounds like a form of Japanese, but not quite…maybe ancient Japanese." Cho mumbled under her breath. "One of my aunts speak Japanese. I think he said _'Sasuke you bastard.' _"

"Maybe he reacts to sound and movement?" Pavarti said after another long silence.

"I don't know, but we should leave before anyone comes back." Hermione whispered as she left towards the door. The other girls reluctantly followed behind her, and Cho, who was last to leave the room, made sure that the door was only partly open again.

"Let's not tell anyone about this. I only came here to see if Sasuke was a threat, but he's just looking out for his friend. And I don't think he'll appreciate it if we tell people." Hermione said as they fast walked out of the office and towards the stairs.

"I agree! Who knew under that cold appearance was one of those soft, caring guys!" Padma cooed while she clasped her hands together and giggled.

One by one, the Hogwarts girls slid down the stone walls since the magic of the gloves were starting to run out, and the stick had become more like light suction.

Bouncing onto the floor, and to the entrance in front of the Gargoyle again, they picked up their bags. "We should have a code name for him if the subject ever comes up though." Cho said.

"Oh! There was a yellow flower in his room, and his hair is blonde so maybe… sunflower!" Padma yelled excitedly.

The Gargoyle jerked to life, and started to rotate up to the door above. The girls stared for a little bit before starting to head back to their classes.

"A little too late, but now we know for future reference." Hermione said. "Well… I guess Sunflower it is."

* * *

><p>Naruto listened from inside is mind as female voices speaking some sort of gibberish echoed through his mind. He sat far from the Kyuubi cage as possible seeing as the old fox had been acting strangely ever since he admitted that being a demon vessel wasn't all bad. In no way had the nine tails acted nice, or lent him any more power, but he wasn't shouting his usual obscenities. Though the silence was completely unwelcome.<p>

There were a few times like just a few seconds ago where he would hear something probably from outside his head, and his head was just as it always was; the only sound being his own voice, Kyuubi and the occasional drip of water. This sort of silence made him think too much, and he hadn't been alone like this in a long time. It reminded him of Jiraiya's death or the hours after Sasuke's defection of the village.

When the voices came back again, Naruto felt something shift in his mind, like a muscle loosening or a tree groaning back into place after being weighted down. Jumping to his feet, he tried his best to wrestle his way out of his mind and into consciousness; each attempt causing him to become more excited and more frantic. The heavy thrumming of his heart was like his drum to battle, and urged him forward even more. Like a glass shattering into a million pieces he reached out with his hand and grabbed something. He could feel it under his fingers even though he couldn't see it. It was warm, and soft and small… a hand? Or maybe a wrist? Though maybe that of a small kid's or a girl that wasn't a shinobi. In his slight hesitation, he was pushed back in, though the opening that he had created wasn't completely closed either.

"This is seriously fucked up… Sasuke, you bastard, this is probably your fault."

Even though his breakthrough to freedom was a failure, Naruto was optimistic by nature, and if he was the type of person who gave up on the first try, then he would have never gotten to where he was today.

"Huh, I wonder if I can do the same thing that that guy, Kisuke Maboroshi, did… minus the dying."

Though the idea was completely useless seeing as his problem was getting out of his body, and he wouldn't be able to become a temporary ghost. It was creepy too… ghosts were just creepy. Shaking from his straying thoughts he lead his mind on a new topic. What language those girls were speaking. Now, sure in his earlier years, he hadn't taken the time to read up on general information, but as Hokage and a student of Jiraiya, he needed to _know_ a lot to _do_ a lot.

Right then his stomach growled… or at least he imagined it would. He was **starving! **Up until then something had kept him nourished, but if he could take a good guess, someone probably forgot about him.

"What I wouldn't do for a nice extra large steaming bowl of ramen right now… all salty and delicious. Man this sucks!"

Naruto pouted and crossed his arms. Mentally fiddling with the hole he had broken through earlier, he wondered if he would be able to bring back any of his senses. He was sure that if he felt something earlier, there was no way he couldn't at least feel something now. Closing his eyes really tightly, Naruto concentrated on the opening, and to his surprise he could feel something under his fingers. It was a weird sensation well you felt something in your mind, but it didn't _look_ like you were touching something. He imagined that it was probably whatever he was lying on since it was soft and warm. He stopped when he felt something else though. It must have already been on the bed because he could only feel the bed from the pads of his fingers and part of his palm. It felt like a scroll or paper of some sort, but he couldn't tell what it was with his 'eyes closed'. Sighing loudly, Naruto continued to work out breaking feeling back to the rest of his body.

Giving up once he lost the feeling, Naruto tried to get the Kyuubi's attention, but the large fox didn't even bat an eyelid as he continued to slumber on. Giving up again at the lack of response, Naruto just sighed in defeat. Naruto moved away from the cage and wondered into different parts of his mind; seeing if there was anything that would help him get a clue on a way out. Uncle Bee really should have left instructions for this. If the eight tails container was going to mention it, Bee should have at least told him a way to fix things if the situation arose. Thinking about it, Naruto thought that the older male probably did mention it, but Naruto didn't understand at all what with all of the rapping and bad singing the Lightning shinobi did. This might take a while.

* * *

><p>Sasuke left his clone out on the lake. It was just to keep the three female witches occupied for a few minutes while he got back to the room to take care of Naruto. He'd even let the clone pop right in front of them to irritate the Umbridge woman even more. Sasuke really didn't understand when he became so patient and agreeable. If this place was making him soft, god damn it, he needed someone to spar with.<p>

Slipping in through the still open window, he froze at the frame. Something was definitely off… someone had been in here. He could tell just by the faint shift of energy in the hair. There was more magic in the room then chakra, and since people left a trail of either one they were born with, Sasuke quickly concluded that it was a lot more magic then once single elf (Milly) could make. Stepping into the room like a panther on the prowl, Sasuke stepped on foot in front of another; walking on an invisible thin line.

His sharp eyes swept through the room and searched for anything that was taken and out of place. His eyes finally landed on Naruto. Looking down at the bed, he snapped his head to the other side from where he was standing, and leaned over. There, maybe only a centimeter from Naruto's finger pads, was a neatly folded piece of parchment. Plucking it from its previous position, Sasuke checked it over quickly and unfolded it. It was a timetable of classes. Checking the top right corner, he read the name printed at the top of the paper. _Granger, Hermione J._

Tucking the paper a pocket, he stored it in his mind for later. Sitting at the side of the bed, he started to get Naruto's 'lunch' ready… if you could call it that anyway. Feeling the paper through his pocket he clucked his tongue. _Well at least I have something to do._

Sasuke wasnt going to threaten or scare the girl... too much, but he really needed to get a point across that he didn't want to be bothered. Normally he would have just run her through with a sword, but he couldn't do that at the moment. Shrugging his shoulders, he decided to go with his one choice that would leave the least amount of evidence.

* * *

><p>Hermione tossed and turned under the covers for most of the night. Waking up to the alarm was actually a relief after the horrid dream she had had. She she ever thought that Harry was over exaggerating his reactions to his bad dreams about he who must no be named... well she definitely didn't think so now. Slipping out of bed, she joined the rest of the girls in their usual morning routine. Tying her hair back lazily in a bun, Hermione sighed and sleepily sat down on her bed again.<p>

Lavendar Brown looked over at that moment, and gave her a, although entirely too sweet and plastic, look of concern.

"You look terrible, Hermione! Did you have a rough night?"

Refraining from being sarcastic, and giving a rude comment, Hermione sighed loudly while pressing her forehead on the wooden post of her bed.

"Yeah. It was just a nightmare though... a really really bad nightmare."

* * *

><p>I know I said that I wouldn't leave much commentary, but I thought that this was semi-important. I'm sorry if there are spelling mistakes. Exams stuff has been going on, and I didn't have any good amount of time to write this chapter. I didn't want to wait any longer, so if there is a spelling or grammar mistake, tell me so I can fix it as soon as possible. If anyone wants to volunteer to be a Beta or maybe know someone who would want to be, that would be helpful. Review!<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Naruto is unconscious after his final fight with Sasuke. Sasuke doesn't want Konoha to take Naruto back. Whisking the boy away, Sasuke travels to the ends of their world and farther all for the sake of one thing...Main Character #2:Naruto SasuNaru

Don't kill me! I've been super busy the past two weeks! I wasn't going to update until I heard back from the beta readers I contacted, but I didn't want to leave anyone hanging for another day. Also, if you offered to be a Beta and I didn't contact you, then please message me. I'm actually going to have three or four betas for this story because it's probably going to be close to 300,000 words and I need ideas from all sides and stuff…

Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, Sasuke would have given Naruto a real kiss a hundred episodes ago… but sadly I don't.

* * *

><p>It was finally that time of season again. The sky was covered with large rainy clouds that were ready to spit out snow, but Christmas was still a month and a half away. It was that time of season where the Gryffindors happily swarmed around nice toasty fires and looked out their tower windows at the landscape changing color. All the while Slytherins slunk around in their dungeons trying to get the fire as large as possible without burning down the Common Room.<p>

_Yeah, that season._ Draco Malfoy thought with a scowl on his face. The year was going just terribly what with everything the youngest Malfoy had to deal with. And there had been non-stop rebellion acts from bloody Potter, the strangest decrees made by Umbridge (who was _supposed _to be on his/Slytherin's side), but then there was one flicker of hope.

"Malfoy! Did you hear about that new fellow?"

"Does he work for the ministry, seriously bleeding or friends with Potter?"

"Well no but…"

"Then I'm not interested right now."

_Two weeks later…_

"Draco! Did you hear that the new guy has been…?"

"Is he working with Dumbledore, seriously bleeding or friends with Potter?"

"Well no but…"

"Still not interested."

_Some time later…_

"Draco! Did you hear that a week ago the new guy, Sasuke, jumped out a tower window?"

"Is he some superhuman hired to guard the castle, bleeding and dead or friends with Potter?"

"Well no but…"

"Okay, now I'm interested."

Draco Malfoy had had a tough summer, too. As much as he had enjoyed seeing Harry Potter suffer at coming face to face with Voldemort again, having a friend/classmate die, and most (if not all) of the magical community against Potter, happiness didn't last long. It was like fate decided that she wanted to give a blow to each side, and decided to make his life miserable. And coming home to the manor with dark clouds overcast should have been warning enough to run to the vacation house at the beach for the summer before his parents saw him… but no; he just had to be a fool and wake the sleeping dragon. Needless to say, trying to subtly dodge any kind of run in with Lord Voldemort when he came to the house was Draco's number one mission that summer. Fortunately, it seemed that the Dark Lord hadn't taken any real interest in any of the children of his death eaters yet anyway.

Had he known that being a Muggle-Hater meant he had to sleep with his wand under his pillow in fear that a snake would slither into his room, Draco would have stuck with just hating broccoli and poor people.

Alas, he did what his father said, and let his mother mold him. And up until then it was fine because in the end he always got what he wanted. But 'always' became 'usually', which soon became 'once in a while'… Draco was just waiting for 'once in a while' to turn into 'never'. In no way was he considering helping Dumbledore or Potter, but he didn't exactly hold any interest in working under Voldemort either when there was a chance that spilling milk could actually get him killed.

So why was Sasuke Uchiha such an interest to him? For once a powerful guy had no real connections to either side (hopefully), and that meant that there was a possibility for a neutral side. No way in hell was he going to walk away from one of the most powerful wizards alive without having an extra powerful wand or two backing him up.

Parkinson stepped right up next to him as he dipped his quill into shimmering green ink.

"So should we tell our parents about him or not? None of us have mentioned him yet…"

Draco looked at his friends and fellow Slytherins. Being the Dark Lord's closest follower's son was quite a handful in the end. Sighing, he set his quill on the new roll of parchment.

_Dear Father and Mother,_

_ Nothing new is going on at Hogwarts; just a regular year. My studies…_

"I better not regret this later…"

* * *

><p>How much time had passed since he'd been in here? A week? A month or three? Naruto was practically going insane with no one to talk to and nothing to do. He spent most of his time trying to break through the barrier in his mind and sometimes watching memories from inside his head, but that can only do so much for someone like him. Nothing new was in his head…gut… since both his mother and father had said their peace and moved on, and Kyuubi was far from new.<p>

Naruto sat in his mind next to the fox's cage. The nine tails still refused to say more than three words to him, and continued to sleep in his usual manner, which wasn't so bad in the end. Drawing circles in the dark colored liquid, Naruto closed his eyes and let part of his body sink into the water. He'd always automatically stood on the surface of the water, like everyone else who had ever been in his mind, but he wondered if there was something at the bottom. Was it just a floor? Or would it lead to something else? Would he keep on falling forever without end?

Sinking until the water was up to his neck, he noticed for the first time that the water didn't actually feel like anything. It just felt like he was floating or something. He didn't notice as the Kyuubi lifted one eye open and watched as his head sunk all the way into the watery floor. His dark red tails swishing impatiently, the fox started to fall back to sleep again.

"About time. This space is small enough without having to share it with the human."

Naruto closed his eyes and kept sinking farther and farther down, which vaguely reminded him of the dreams he used to have of him sinking into the ocean and being pushed back up to the surface by his friends. Though there were no friends this time to bring him back up. He kept his eyes closed for a long time, until he heard the quiet sound of a bird chirping in the distance. Opening his eyes, Naruto was stunned to see that he was lying under a very familiar tree with a large red scrolled tucked under his head. Slowly getting up from his position he blinked a few times to adjust to the sudden onslaught of sunlight.

"Hey brat. How's it going?"

His breath catching in his throat, Naruto turned around to see Jiraiya leaning against the tree. He was wearing his usual attire and Naruto could even see phantom blotches of ink covering the white haired man's hands.

"Before you say anything, no you aren't dead. I just thought that I'd try plagiarism on for size and stole your father's technique for some last minute use."

Naruto stood up and walked towards the Toad Sage. Standing in front of him, Naruto pulled back his arm, and sent a powerful punch into Jiraiya's gut. Catching the surprised man in his arms, he let a shaky breath and hugged Jiraiya tightly.

"Dad got one, too. It's for being a big idiot…I missed you so much."

"I hope that's not how you greet your future wife… I don't think she'd appreciate the warm welcome."

Laughing back tears that threatened to fall, Naruto quickly wiped them away and stepped back.

"So why are you in my head? Don't tell me I have to save the world again…"

"No nothing like that. You've done your part, and I just wanted to tie up the loose ends seeing as you _are_ my godson." Clearing his throat in an almost exaggerated way, he continued.

"Now I'm not going to tell you the "How to be a Man" speech seeing as you've already got that done like a champ, but I need to talk to you about… you. You know, Naruto without the Uzumaki or Namikaze or Hokage or…"

"Wait how did you know that I became Hokage?"

"Oh you made Hokage? I just assumed for future accomplishments, but whatever. Congrats… it's a little late, but better late than never."

Naruto rolled his eyes, and felt his heart lift even higher at seeing his departed mentor and family member congratulate him. Naruto had really wanted him to be there for the small and quick ceremony, and hearing that meant the world to him. Flopping down on the ground next to the older man, who had started to sit against the tree, Naruto waited for Jiraiya to carry on.

"Yes, well. I can honestly say that there's no real advice I can give to you. You're practically a walking Saint mixed together with a bolt of lightning; a gentle hand that can also throw a power punch, you know? All I can say is… don't ever change. Always be who you want to be. I know it's hard keeping an open heart, but that's what's great about you, and you've helped a lot of lives that way." Jiraiya shift in his sitting position so that he could lean forward and ruffle Naruto's sunflower colored hair. The younger male looked so sad and happy all at the same time, and Jiraiya couldn't help but feel sad too.

"Pervy Sage… I'm just glad to have known you. I'll do my best. I don't know what lies outside of my mind, but it's nothing the Orange Hokage can't handle, believe it!"

"Wow, I thought you got over that speech tick."

"Shut up… I don't say it as often. And I mean it! That's all I need to carry through. To know that, wherever Mom and Dad are, and you and everyone else believing in me is enough."

"Fucking Saint I tell you. Anyway, on to more pressing matters. Brat, I feel Sasuke lurking right outside here. Do you remember the last thing that happened before you entered the mindscape?"

"Yeah, but in truth, I'm not as worried anymore. Things almost always work out in the end, right? And I'm pretty sure we won the Fourth War anyway… sooo yeah."

Naruto fidgeted in his seat on the ground at the mention of his best friend's name. Seeing the look in Naruto's eyes, Jiraiya rolled his eyes and slapped his idiot, brave student upside the head.

"Stopping being so selfless, and just take what you want already."

Naruto's eyes furrowed in confusion. "What do ya mean?"

Shrugging his shoulders, Jiraiya picked himself up off the ground, and looked at Naruto. "Well, I think my time is up."

"Wait you can't go yet! There's so much I haven't…"

"Sorry kid. But it really is time for you to wake up. It doesn't due to dwell too much on the past. Live as you always have Naruto, and then some if you know what I mean."

Hugging Naruto close to him he patted him on the shoulder, and moved away. "Well, can't keep the angel ladies waiting! I hope I don't see you soon kid. I'm proud… now go and be happy."

Nodding his head quickly, Naruto gave Jiraiya one last watery small, before he felt a sudden heaviness and warmth envelop his entire body, and everything turned black again. Before long, black changed into dotted colored vision behind his closed eyelids. Feeling a cold but light breeze brushing against his right cheek, Naruto slowly started to open his eyes. He stared up at the ceiling for some time, and tried to see if he could move his body parts properly. Sensing someone else in the room, Naruto tried to stay as silent as possible for the time being.

Turning his head to the side so that his cheek was pressed against the pillow white pillow under his head, Naruto was met with the sight of Sasuke reading on the open window sill biting into a large red tomato. Opening his mouth to speak, he closed it and simply smiled.

Shifting his legs out from under the covers, he felt how weak they had come from his time spent in bed… however long that had been.

At the sound of him moving out of the sheets, Naruto watched as Sasuke's head jerked up and towards him. Sasuke froze at the sight of him, and Naruto was almost afraid that the raven haired boy would run away. He stood at the edge of the bed, and tested his feet for a second before stepping forward with confidence.

Naruto watched Sasuke carefully, and slowly padded his way across the cold stone floor. Neither said a word as Naruto continued to cross the room towards Sasuke whom was clutching the red tomato to the point where it looked like it was going to explode in his hand. Soon, Naruto was standing right over Sasuke with a blank look on his face, and leaned forward so that he was level with Sasuke. Staring at his dark eyes, Naruto noticed that Sasuke's once lifeless orbs were filled with small sparks again, and Naruto knew that maybe there was a chance… Breaking out in a huge smile, he held Sasuke's face in his hands with as much care as possible.

"Welcome home, Sasuke bastard."

After a long pause, Sasuke lifted both his hands up, and grabbed both of Naruto's in his. Sasuke just stared back at him with a small frown on his face. Rubbing them together softly as if he didn't think that any of this was real, Sasuke finally responded; the corner of his lips curling up almost unnoticeably to anyone who wasn't looking.

"I'm home, idiot Naruto."

"Alright! So let's head back to Konoha!"

"Yeah, about that…"

* * *

><p>The Great Hall was packed for lunch that day. And why wouldn't it be when you could talk to your friends on the latest gossip over lasagna and salad. Troubles with Umbridge were almost unbearable with her breathing down everyone's necks and making all the decrees. Seriously, what was she going to do when they all filled out of the classrooms to head to another course, expel them for bumping shoulders? The woman was mental, and even a good amount of the Slytherins looked at her with distaste; though no one could tell if it was because of what she was doing or of what she was wearing.<p>

"I'm telling you Harry, I know for certain that there's nothing bad about Sasuke. If he was really after you, don't you think that he'd be around more?"

Harry sighed at Hermione's comment. She was right. He was just so paranoid, and he really couldn't take any chances. He'd been tailing Sasuke since day one, and besides the guy randomly walking around the castle, and jumping off of high ledges, there was nothing sinister about him… well his personality _was _pretty fowl, but so was Ron's when he woke up in the morning. Completely immersed in his own thoughts, he completely missed the look Hermione shared with the Gryffindor Patil twin sitting a little farther down the table.

Picking at his lasagna dejectedly, Harry thoughtlessly rubbed the scars on the back of his hand. Taking a large swig of pumpkin juice, he lazily looked over at the front of the table.

"_NNNNAAANNIIII!"_

Spitting out the remaining juice he hadn't swallowed, Harry jumped out of his seat alongside half of the other student body. It was quiet again for a few seconds as the students' heads turned in all directions to see where the thunderous yell had come from. Making everyone jump and scream in surprise, a loud boom sounded like a pile of bricks being blown up, and next thing they knew something came flying through the roof, and onto the floor. The dust covered mass leapt to its feet, and shook off the dirt and brick. Under all the grime stood Sasuke in his usual tall and serious manner, but anyone could see traces of annoyance on his face. This was soon followed by a yellow haired, pajama wearing blur who looked furious.

"_Nani ga jigoku! Watashi wa hokage anata jākuda!"_

For some reason, Draco looked up at the hole in the ceiling and the two figures as if they were his ticket to a billion galleons while Harry angrily pointed at them before turning to Hermione. "See! I told you! It's a bloody take over!"

Pulling out his wand, Harry was about to start flinging spells, but Hermione was already on it. She hit him with a light sleeping jinx so that he would be out for a few minutes tops. Making sure that Harry wasn't going to get stepped on, Hermione quickly apologized to his still form, and moved to the center of all the commotion. Hermione leaned in towards Cho who had run her way at the appearance of 'Sunflower boy'.

"Cho! What did he say!"

Cho looked frantic as if the words were rolling in her head chaotically. "Uhhh ummm I think he said something like 'What the hell. I'm the fire shadow' and I didn't catch the last part."

Both of them faced back towards the raging blonde and Sasuke who looked like he was trying not to look like he cared.

"_Look, I'll make this easy. It was Konoha or me and since you were out cold it was default."_

"_You bastard! You can't just decide those kinds of things on a whim!"_

"_I think I just did."_

"_Well it's nice to know you haven't changed that much deep down."_

"_Sarcasm doesn't make you look any smarter."_

"_Why you!"_

The students in the great hall stood stock still has their heads swiveled left and right between the arguing teens. Clusters of students huddled next to any person in the Great Hall who could at least vaguely translate the conversation while the teachers were freaking out about the hole in the ceiling. It was finally Dumbledore who tried to approach Sasuke and the mysterious blonde, but quickly backed away with an amused chuckle when the blonde threatened him in his own language while waving a spoon at him threateningly; though it didn't look as threatening when it was a spoon and not a fork or knife. As he held the silver utensil, the blue eyed stranger stopped and looked at it in wonder.

"_This isn't a chopstick."_

"_No, it's not Naruto."_

It was a bizarre statement to calm down with, but Naruto finally put down the utensil and gave a heavy sigh. _"And there's no way to go back."_

Sasuke looked just as stoic was always, but Naruto could see the small lines of worry on the raven haired boy' face. _"Even if there was, I'm not looking for it."_

Sighing again, the blonde walked towards Sasuke; making it easy to see that both boys were just about the same height with the Naruto only half an inch or so shorter. He was mumbling under his breath before drawing the stunned Uchiha into a hug, and giving him a huge smile that seemed to illuminate the room. _"Well there better be ramen or I'm running the hell outta here."_

Both the boys were rather close, and easily broke the friend vs. friend bubble, which caused part of the student body to lean in anticipation to see what was going to happen next, and the other to wonder in disgust what the hell was going on.

"You delinquents broke the roof!"

Naruto looked over Sasuke's shoulder at a plump brown haired woman storming towards them. Seeing her face, Naruto scratched his head in wonder, and looked up at the roof. Looking at the enraged woman, and back at the hole in the roof again, Naruto finally noticed the cloak wearing population in the room, and gave a huge smile while giving a small wave.

"_Hello, yeah sorry about that. I'll fix it no prob though. Believe it!"_

Everyone just stared at him in astonishment at the lack of shyness shown after entering the room through the roof, and then starting fight in the middle of the Hogwarts population without even really noticing.

"_How did you even become Hokage?"_

"_Shut up, bastard!"_ Naruto said with a red face. _"I was distracted, okay! I could beat your ass into the ground any day and any where!"_

"_I'd like to see you try, idiot."_

Before Naruto could retaliate though, he was surrounded by a huge flock of girls cooing out how cute and handsome he looked, but he didn't know that so he just stood in the middle awkwardly smiling. A bunch of other students rushed over to try to speak to the confused looking blonde who was also trying to tell them something with exaggerated hand gestures and facial expressions.

Rubbing his temples in annoyance, Sasuke looked over at Dumbledore who was just standing in the middle of the chaos alternating between chewing on a bread roll, watching the teachers trying to stop bricks from falling, and smiling at the blonde or to him, too.

Taking out an old pocket watch, Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly.

"I'm sure you all would love to get more acquainted with our new guest, but this _is_ a school, and you all have things to learn. Please head to your classes along with the teachers."

Ushering Sasuke and Naruto to the door to the right of the staff table, Dumbledore led them through the trophy room and back to his office. All the while, the old man watched as the shining blonde boy pointed at things and shook Sasuke in excitement. In all of his years, he'd never seen someone with so much energy!

When they finally arrived back in his office, Naruto gave a short and quick bob of his head before drawing the old man into a tight handshake.

"_The name is Naruto Uzumaki, Rokudaime of Konohagakure!"_

Dumbledore looked at Naruto strangely before moving his gaze to Sasuke, who was telling the blonde something or other. Whatever Sasuke had said, made Naruto look even more excited.

"He said that his name is Naruto Uzumaki, but you already know that and… well he was the leader of our former home."

Sasuke said. "He doesn't know English yet seeing as I had just learned it before I had arrived here so if you would be patient…"

Dumbledore smiled and waved it off as a small inconvenience. "It's too bad I don't have Cap Translators. You put them in your ears and on your molars and they translate and retranslate between languages… useful though a bit expensive."

Sasuke nodded in understanding and was about to speak when the blonde yelled in astonishment at the red Phoenix seated not too far off. Naruto stroked the bird's feathers enthusiastically, as Faux chirped in approval at the attention shown. Sasuke scolded Naruto in their language, but the blonde just gave him a funny face and continued to play with the magic red bird.

"Now that Naruto is all better, will you need any help finding a place to stay after you leave the castle… and fix the hole in the roof of course?"

Sasuke nodded thankfully at the old Headmaster. "That will be very helpful. There is still so much that has to be done between money and learning more about your culture. Also… if you would do me one last favor. Would you mind making a couple of identification certificates for Naruto and I. We didn't being ours with us."

Dumbledore looked at him through his glasses before stroking his beard. "What makes you think I have the power to do such a thing? It's certainly a suspicious thing to ask for, too."

"I'm smart; that's how I know. And I'm not asking you to make us fake ones; just new ones."

Shrugging his shoulders the old man gave Sasuke a huge grin. "You are full of surprises, aren't you? Just fix the roof, and I'll take care of the rest. By the way, you did a wonderful job on the castle. It looks and is working better than ever."

"Mhhh. I only did it so I wouldn't have to owe you."

"That's too bad. You would have made a good person to ask a favor of."

Sasuke only rolled his eyes as he marched the blonde out of the office.

* * *

><p>The sun had set hours ago, and everyone in the castle had long since fallen asleep. Well, almost everyone except for two of the occupants high up in a tower. Sasuke and Naruto sat stalk still across from each other on the same bed, and yet they hadn't said more than a few words that night. Once the initial adrenaline rush had worn off, and the excitement of being in a magic castle ebbed away, Naruto wasn't quite sure how to proceed. Scratching the back of his head nervously, Naruto sat butterfly style on the edge of the bed.<p>

"Sasuke look…"

"If you want to leave then leave. I won't hold it against you." Sasuke interrupted. Although his voice was devoid of emotion, Naruto thought that Sasuke appeared more nervous then he realized. Either way, Naruto hoped he wouldn't mess this up. Naruto snapped his jaw shut and then opened it again. Scooting closer to his former teammate, Naruto played with the end of his pajama shirt before sighing.

"No, that's not it. I… I just need to know why I'm here."

Sasuke looked at Naruto with confusion before a flicker of anger crossed his features. For a moment, Naruto considered moving to the farthest corner of the room, but held his ground.

"You think that I'm going to use you for some plot? Look I'm…"

"NO! That's not what I meant what I thought that you meant, ya know? Uggh! I'm just not that good with words."

It was silent again as the two boys just stared at each other for the thousandth time that night. It was odd being in front of the other without it being a battle or fight like it had been for the past five years or so. Naruto could see the huge difference in Sasuke. The boy had grown up to look amazingly similar to Itachi and his mother, but the features were not as soft nor innocent looking. His eyes, although lacking it's red tint, were much sharper and darker than before. And yet, Naruto couldn't imagine it being any other way.

"What I'm trying to say is… I'm not going anywhere, but I need to know why you took me with you? Why didn't you kill me? What am I to you, Sasuke? Your friend? Rival? Former teammate? Fellow shinobi?"

When Sasuke didn't say anything Naruto continued. "You know, I learned something over the years about myself… and also you. It's that if it isn't said outright, we either don't understand or go into denial. Sasuke, I've kept almost every promise I've ever made. I gained the village's respect, I became a strong ninja and I became the Hokage. I even surpassed my father. This place isn't Konoha… but you're here next to me. I need… I need a good, no a great, reason for me to break that promise I made to everyone and you so many times before. I've made my peace, so if I died now, leaving Konoha behind and the others wouldn't be a tragedy on a mental battlefield. But, you…"

Sasuke shifted uneasily in his seat. Breathing restlessly, Sasuke looked Naruto straight in the eye. His coal colored orbs moved across Naruto's face before settling back with sky blue eyes. Sasuke's mouth twitched a few times, like he meant to say something, but kept on taking it back in belief that it was a bad idea. It wasn't until shifted awkwardly did Sasuke speak.

"I don't feel right saying this to you. I've done nothing but cause you trouble, but… god damn it Naruto, I just… You're the only one that understands. You stuck with me even when I tried to kill everyone you loved and even you several times. I think I…"

"Say it. I'm not a kid anymore. Say…"

"We're best friends. It's always been like that. You were the fucking idiot always running around and chasing me, and I was the guy blindly following his own ambitions. There was just no way that it's possible, and yet… I have these feelings for you. I don't know why or if it's right but…"

Grabbing Naruto by the back of his head, Sasuke pulled Naruto so close that they could feel each other's breath on their faces. Naruto's heart was hammering in his chest, but he didn't feel disgust or surprised by the feelings that he felt. He'd known for sure that day in the snow when Sakura attempted to kill Sasuke right before the Fourth Shinobi War broke out.

Naruto pressed his forehead against Sasuke's as he tried not to blink; in fear that he'd wake up back in his mind like a dream within a dream. Nothing happened until their noses touched and Sasuke's eyes widen with some sort of emotion. Scared that Sasuke was going to pull away, Naruto brought his hands up and kept a firm grip on the other boy's shoulders.

What felt like a million years later, Sasuke finally closed the distance between them. Lips touched lips in a hesitant kiss that almost seemed unreal. The kiss was warm and simple, if not a little unimpressive on most people's scales, but to Naruto and Sasuke it was like the world suddenly blew up and rebuilt itself just for them.

Naruto's lips felt tingling and warm; which was very different from both of his accidental kisses with Sasuke and the kiss from that Fuka woman. When they pulled apart, Sasuke looked at Naruto for a short second before pulling him in to another kiss; this one more confident. Naruto wrapped his arms around Sasuke as their lips meshed together and moved almost desperately. They didn't pull apart until they felt burning in their chests from lack of air. The stood up right in the same position until, the pulled each other down next to each other on the bed.

Sasuke and Naruto just held onto to each other loosely and lay on their sides in bed and stared until their eyes burned from lack of blinking. The silent moment was broken though, when Naruto's shoulders started to shake violently. The motion was soon followed by Sasuke who tried to cover it up with great effort.

The two ninja burst into fits of laughter that made their ribs creak and their stomachs knot. It was just so strange and ridiculous! Who would have thought that Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha had it this bad for each other.

"We're really fucked in the head." Sasuke said once his laughter settled down. He started to feel this feathery lightness inside him that he hadn't felt since he was a little boy, and he smiled. It didn't matter that only one person would see it, or that his life was in complete shambles up until now. It didn't matter because that one person was Naruto, and nothing that had occurred before that very moment seemed more important or more bright.

"You should smile more. You look good when you smile, bastard Sasuke."

"Shut up and go to sleep…"

* * *

><p>Sasuke and Naruto hung upside down along the high roof they had broken. The tool box was placed on the other side of the roof outside as they tried to fix the roof brick by brick. They would place a wooden beam in the middle, and then stick a brick to it by infusing chakra to it. It would have been a lot easier though if it wasn't for the fact that Naruto and Sasuke couldn't stop arguing about the gravity of the whole situation. And that was meant literally.<p>

"No! If we rebuild the top first and then work down then it would stay faster!"

"What are you talking about? We'd have to stay up here longer that way!"

Indeed the task would have been done long before lunch arrived, but unfortunately, the only real thing they accomplished was gaining stares from all of the students and teachers.

Ron and Harry shamelessly stared up at them all through lunch.

"You know they kind of remind me of you and Hermione." Harry said absentmindedly.

Ron looked between Hermione and Sasuke and then at Naruto and himself a few times before looking back at Harry in a completely serious manner.

"Yeah, except I'm ten times as good looking."

Harry just rolled his eyes and walked away with his friends, and some additional members from the DA. "At least they keep Umbridge off our backs. She spends so much time thinking about ways to get those two into serious trouble that she hasn't been around at every turn."

Just as they were about to walk out of the room, a creaking sound could be heard from above. A loud crack echoed through the hall before a beam the size of a hippogriff broke off from the ceiling where the two upside down foreigners were trying to push it into place. Some of the older students and teachers whipped out their wands to stop the beam from falling all the way to the ground, but they were stopped by… fourteen Narutos?

Like a human chain, each Naruto hung on to the other by the ankles as the last one hugged the beam to his chest.

Looked at them with an amazed glint in his eyes, Harry turned to Hermione who was slack jaw like most everyone else.

"Do you think they would teach me how to do that if I asked?" Harry said hopefully.

"Oh so now they're good guys? Really Harry, I had to knock you out earlier this week!" Hermione sighed in frustration. "And besides, you might want to hurry because you've got competition."

Harry's brows furrowed in confusion before his head whipped towards the hanging Narutos. There, level with the last upside down Naruto, who had dropped the beam carefully on the floor, was Draco Malfoy; an open and empty box labeled Cap Translators lying at his feet.

"Bloody hell, he works fast!" Harry yelled as he scrambled towards them. "No way am I letting Malfoy influence them with his stupid beliefs! Come on, Ron!"

Hermione shook her head again with exasperation as she watched Ron and Harry rush to the hanging Naruto and Sasuke who had somehow made his way to the ground again.

Naruto, who was trying to scoot away from the red, black and blonde haired boys who had eagerly approached him for some reason, shared a glance at Sasuke.

_Why do I feel like I just made life here ten times as complicated…?_

* * *

><p>Review!<p> 


End file.
